This Changes Everything

Matt Papa: Yes! I believe we are beginning to see a revival of music with rich content for the church. The two primary places this is happening is within the Christian hip-hop culture (Lecrae, Trip Lee, Shai Linne, etc.) and in the modern worship pastor culture. Worship leaders are beginning to see themselves as worship pastors – caring deeply about song-theology and writing new songs of worship that feed the church. We’ve still got a long way to go, as much of the dominant and persuasive CCM industry is money driven rather than ministry driven, but I believe God is moving, and songs are being written that both perpetuate and memorialize this current season of gospel-renewal. And I say, “Go Jesus.”

Trevin Wax: Guys like you and me can come across somewhat critical of CCM, and sometimes rightly so. But I was recently revisiting some old Steven Curtis Chapman albums and noticed a heavy focus on grace, the gospel, etc. There are bright spots in CCM. What in CCM do you like?

Matt Papa: Some of the artists I like in Contemporary Christian Music (CCM) include Matt Redman, Phil Wickham, Matt Maher, Switchfoot, and Tim Hughes, although some would say (and I would say) these I have listed here aren’t quite “CCM.” They are contemporary artists and they are “doing Christian music,” but “CCM” has taken on a new meaning entirely in my opinion (I will explain in a moment).

The acronym “CCM,” in my opinion, no longer simply means contemporary Christian music. It has come to mean that style of Christian music that is heard on mainstream Christian radio, which can be characterized by words like poppy, chipper, and feminine in a musical sense…and words like shallow, safe, and imbalanced in a lyrical/spiritual/theological sense.

Trevin Wax: I hear you, and I share many of the same concerns. Do you think Christian radio is a lost cause? Is there hope for biblically rich, substantive lyrics on the radio? Or should we be thinking beyond radio anyway, as technology is offering lots of ways to hear music?

Matt Papa: I’ll answer your question in two parts. The first answer is regarding philosophy, and the second, strategy.

I think as Christians we must always live in the tension of knowing that the gospel will never be “popular” and yet always hoping that it will be. Jesus said the world would hate us, but Paul also said that we are to be all things to all people (i.e., be winsome). I think as Christians we have to hold to the truth that as long as we are living, there is no area of this world that is a “lost cause” because Jesus is alive and is strong enough to redeem anything and anyone. That said, I absolutely do think there is hope for Christian radio…and want to fight for that and pray for that. As it is underneath God’s sovereignty (like everything else), I should not be surprised if God moves and people repent and things begin to change…but as it is an element of “popular” culture, I should also not be surprised when the gospel is not explicit and Jesus is misrepresented. The Jesus of the Bible is not “popular.”

With respect to the second part of your question…should we be thinking beyond radio. I’ll answer that question with another question: Should movie-makers forget about the movie theatre since everyone is watching movies on their computers via Netflix and Hulu? I would say no. People may be going to the theatre less and less, but that’s where a movie gets major awareness and momentum. The metaphor may not be perfect, but it’s almost perfect.

Trevin Wax: So what’s the takeaway for those of us who are not involved in the music side of things? How can we encourage artists and musicians to compose great songs for the church? And how might we play a part in extending the influence of those artists and musicians into radio for increased exposure? We want to encourage and support musicians (like yourself) who are doing great work. Tell us how.

I’ll be doing a blog post on this topic in the days to come, but my short answer, at the risk of sounding vain and biased, is buy their music.

Artists/musicians, historically, have been modest, hard-working, blue-collar people who were mostly supported by patrons. In the middle ages, baroque, classical, and romantic periods, composers like Bach, Beethoven, Mozart, and Haydn (many of whom were worship leaders in churches) were financially supported by wealthy landowners or people of royalty. Patrons would give these composers financial support so that they could write music and do what they were called to do. Creating good art takes time. (On a side note: J. S. Bach, who had patron support, had 20 children and was a worship leader in 4 churches simultaneously!)

All that said, when you add Jesus and ministry to this mix, it can become extremely difficult to make ends meet. Art is already often pushed to the fringes of society in its importance, but when you add Jesus and the gospel, your possible “fan-base” immediately decreases by 70 percent because the gospel is by nature offensive.

For the church: the power of “song” is hard to exaggerate. Someone has said, “Let me make a nation’s (popular) songs, and I care not who make their laws.” Luther counted hymnody just under preaching in terms of theological formation. I say it this way: A song is a sermon people remember. People forget a sermon in a couple of weeks. They remember a song forever. That means if we as worship leaders and Christian artists are leading people astray with our lyrics, I believe we’ve got a lot of heavy millstones waiting for us. Songs and art have power, permanence, and influence, especially in the realm of theology. And it probably goes without saying but that which influences theology influences everything. ”What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us” - A. W. Tozer.

For the artist: I think it will forever be a struggle for those in ministry – whose “market” is the church – to discern whether God is using them or they are using God. Pray for us Christian artists that we would be servants, not rock-stars. That we would be ministers, not icons. That we would wash feet. That it would become our ambition to build the kingdom of God, and that God would bless us to the extent that we embrace His mission in the world and not our own. Pray for us that we would become increasingly biblical…unafraid to say things that should be said…unafraid to sing things that should be sung. And pray that we would be focused…we will have all eternity to write music…we must win souls.

I once heard Frederica Mathewes-Green say that every child born after 1973 was a “survivor.” That was the year that Roe v. Wade declared “open season” on the contents of the womb. But it appears the license to hunt Bambi was not enough. Now the government is making sure you have a rifle.

Christopher Hitchens’ take on the “charming, sinister” G. K. Chesterton:

The verdict one must pass on GKC, then, is that when he was charming, he was also deeply unserious and frivolous (as with the pub revolution to set off the Distributist revolution); when he was apparently serious, he was really quite sinister (as in calling Nazism a form of Protestant heresy and Jews a species of conspicuous foreigner in England); and when he was posing as a theologian, he was doing little more than ventriloquizing John Henry Newman at his most “dogmatic.” For the time and hour in which he lived, “Chestertonianism” came to represent a minor but still important failure to meet a distinct moral challenge.

The Cult of Amazon Prime:

There are two types of people in the world: those with Amazon Prime and those without. How you think about consumption, commerce and your personal time is radically different depending on if you’ve join the cult — yet. And to be clear, Prime is a cult you will be joining.

Founders of Pensacola Christian College Retire after 31 Years:

Dr. Arlin Horton and his wife, Rebekah, the devoted couple who built Pensacola Christian College, Pensacola Christian Academy and a Christian publishing company into national powerhouses in religious education as well as one of the area’s most potent economic forces, will retire at the end of the school year.

Instead, I want to offer a pastoral look at the underlying issues that prompt these questions and encourage pastors to go for the heart, not merely the surface, when approached with questions of this kind.

1. Recognize the legitimacy of the questions.

Therefore, we cannot and should not chastise new converts for asking specific questions regarding sexual activity. Paul did not chastise the Corinthians for asking about meat offered to idols. We should expect that new believers (and old believers, for that matter) who have at some time or another been hooked on pornography will have a view of sexuality formed (or better said, deformed) by what they have witnessed. There are specific, graphic kinds of questions that arise in this cultural context, and a pastor who seeks to be a missionary in a pornified world ought to expect the uncomfortable questions.

2. Go beyond the surface of the questions.

Many pastors recognize the legitimacy of the questions but don’t go any further. They offer a few reflections about mutual consent, relegate the decisions to the couple in the privacy of the marriage bed, and stress the principle that all (or most) acts are permissible.

Imagine this scenario. A wealthy couple in your congregation comes to you for advice regarding some purchases they’d like to make. “Would it be okay, pastor, for us to buy a bigger TV for our living room? We already tithe and give to missions, but our current TV is a little small.” Most pastors will appeal to the freedom they have in Christ to make the purchase and enjoy the fruits of their labor.

But the conversation continues. Their next question is about purchasing two more TVs the same size. Then the husband asks about getting a fourth car, although there are only three drivers in the family. And the wife says something like, “Well, our neighbors have four.” Next thing you know, they are pelting you with questions about making this purchase or that. And suddenly, you realize that the way you might answer the first question about an individual purchase is not the way you should approach all these questions. The stream of questions reveals a problem with materialism.

Or imagine this scenario: A young man who appears to be in great shape physically asks you about the appropriateness of eating fast food. You explain that in moderation one can enjoy a Big Mac. But he then asks what moderation consists of. Can he eat fast food three or four times a week? If he works out, can he eat all the junk food he wants? And is it wrong to plan each day around one’s meals? Suddenly, you realize that your initial answer to a question about fast food is not the way you should answer all his other questions about food. This guy is obsessed with food, and so now your tactic changes. You begin to ask him questions in order to discern his heart and get to the underlying issues.

The same thing is true of sex. You may answer one question in a particular way, but if a husband or wife is constantly asking, “Can we? Can we?” there are probably bigger issues under the surface. There are presuppositions regarding sex, satisfaction, reproduction, intimacy, neediness, lust, and servanthood that may need to be challenged by the gospel.

If we only recognize the legitimacy of the questions but never go beyond the surface of those questions, we are missing an opportunity to counter our culture’s obsession with sex. It’s not enough to stress our freedom in Christ and grant carte blanche permission for couples to mutually consent to an assortment of sexual activities. Instead, we ought to use the questions as an opportunity to challenge our culture’s warped view of sex and to offer something of beauty in response.

The reason our world is so enamored with sex (evangelicals included) is not because it is so satisfying but because for many it is so unsatisfying. We know there is something cosmic going on when a husband and wife come together. We know there is supposed to be something sacred about the act of marriage. But so many in our society are missing it. And too many times, evangelicals respond to sexual disillusionment by turning our focus toward the act and not the marriage, and thus we fail to lift up something substantive. We offer a Christianized version of RedBook magazine’s “tips to spice up your love life.”

Perhaps it’s time that we shift focus from “Can we?” and “Can’t we?” to a better question: “Why do you ask?” The conversation following that question will surely be more pastorally fruitful in discerning the heart than if we focus merely on the do’s and don’ts.

Ed Dobson is not afraid of dying. It’s the getting there that really scares him. A former pastor, onetime Christian Right operative and an icon among religious leaders, Dobson has Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease. When he was diagnosed, doctors gave him 3 to 5 years to live. That was 11 years ago.

Republicans like it when candidates talk about religion. Democrats don’t. Here are the stats:

In fact, Republicans (32%) are eight times more likely to be influenced positively by a candidate’s religious views than Democrats (4%). Independents (16%) fall in between the two political parties. Depending on the religion, a majority of the Republicans might be seen as having a positive view of such religious discussions.

An Open Letter to Praise Bands:

Please receive this little missive in the spirit it is meant: as an encouragement to reflect on the practice of “leading worship.” It seems to me that you are often simply co-opted into a practice without being encouraged to reflect on its rationale, its “reason why.” In other words, it seems to me that you are often recruited to “lead worship” without much opportunity to pause and reflect on the nature of “worship” and what it would mean to “lead.”

Nomophobia – the fear of being without your phone:

Nomophobia — the fear of being without your cellphone — is on the rise, according to a new report sponsored by SecurEnvoy, a company that specializes in digital passwords.

But a couple weeks ago, I traveled to Southeastern Seminary to speak on Counterfeit Gospels for their 20/20 collegiate conference. Though it was an overnight trip with significant travel and a packed schedule, I arrived home feeling energized instead of drained. While we were catching up about our time apart, Corina asked me if I was tired. I replied, “Yes, but only physically. Spiritually and mentally, I feel refreshed.”

I started to think about why this conference in particular left me feeling refreshed? Three reasons:

1. Conversations about Mission

After the evening session was over on Friday night, two students from The College at Southeastern tweeted me and asked if I was interested in going with them to Applebee’s. Now, it was already late and I was tired, but since my internal clock was on Central Standard Time, it wasn’t as late as it seemed. And there’s no better way to get a feel for a college than to hang out with a couple of ordinary students. So, I responded to their tweet (surprised them too!) and we headed out to Applebee’s for a couple hours.

What did we talk about? In a nutshell – MISSION.

Oh, we talked about a few other things in introduction. But soon, these guys were bubbling over with what they were really passionate about – evangelism. I heard about the drug addicts they were witnessing to and meeting once a week for discipleship. I heard about the church plants they are involved in and the people their churches are reaching. I heard about the intentional missionary mindset they had in their communities.

In short, mission was the topic of discussion. There were a few times we talked about theological issues in evangelicalism, but even then it was clear that theology was in service to mission. I was refreshed by the unwavering Great Commission focus I discovered in these two young guys. The same was true of my host for the weekend, who told me stories about his mission work in the Philippines.

2. Theologically Rich Worship

Conferences are usually about the speakers, right? That’s why I hadn’t put much thought into what the music portion of the conference would be like. But Matt Papa took the stage and led us in songs he had composed, songs that were theologically rich, contemporary expressions of ancient biblical truth. And the sound of a thousand college students reveling in the finished work of Christ and committing their lives to him in response… well, I’ll just say that it was more than I expected. In a good way.

The renaissance of theologically-minded hymns coming out of the next generation is one of the brightest aspects of evangelicalism today.

3. Gospel-focused friendships

The brothers I was able to spend time with at SEBTS were gracious and hospitable. Our conversations were about the gospel and its implications for personal spirituality, for the mission of the church, and the way we treat each other. It’s true that I already had established friendships with faculty at SEBTS and the speakers at the event. Even so, there’s nothing better than the refreshing conversation that comes from guys who are joyful, focused on the cross, and excited to be making a difference for the kingdom.

The Take-Away

Church ought to be this way. For everyone. We don’t need conferences for this. We meet with the Body of Christ every week.

Our churches ought to be about the mission. (After all, the church is the sign and instrument of the kingdom. We exist to proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ so that more and more will worship Him, know Him, and love Him.)

Our churches ought to have theologically rich worship services, where we exalt God and exult in God.

Our churches ought to be filled with people who have gospel-focused conversations, where we bring the gospel to bear on every inch of life, hold one another accountable, rebuke one another in love, and encourage one another in grace.

Let’s not rely on conferences to give us fuel for the journey. Let’s work to make our churches an oasis of grace, a place for refreshment and empowerment as we seek to fulfill the mission God has given us.

Funerals are the kinds of events when it’s hard not to get religion, to feature at least some of those quotes that talk about eternal issues and ultimate choices. The nearly 4-hour funeral of superstar Whitney Houston was no exception.

The Forgotten Influence of Martin Luther:

Most Christians are familiar with the fiery turning points in Luther’s life—the fearful vow to become a monk, the Diet of Worms, the burning of Pope Leo’s papal bull. But few know the profound influence Luther would have on marriage, hymns, and the German language.

A First-Century Fragment of Mark Found?

Much of the biblical scholarly world has been buzzing since Feb. 1, when a New Testament professor made a claim during a debate that was news to most everyone who heard it — a first-century fragment of Mark’s Gospel may have been found. It would be the earliest-known fragment of the New Testament, placing it in the very century of Christ and the apostles.

The 10 Stages of a Christian Internet Controversy:

Before the next controversy hits, I’ve attempted to catalog a step-by-step (and tongue-in-cheek) account of what happens when a popular Christian leader says or does something deemed important by his or her frenemies.

Open mine eyes, dear Savior, now,
Open mine eyes to see
The well of Thy full salvation
That sparkles and flows for me.

Open mine eyes, dear Savior,
I know that the well is near;
But O that my strength were stronger,
Its mission more bright and clear.

Whence is the voice that calleth?
And what do mine eyes behold?
O Savior, my prayer is answered,
‘Tis answered a hundred fold.

Praise to Thy Name, dear Savior mine,
Joyfully now I see
The well of Thy full salvation
That sparkles and flows for me.

- Fanny Crosby

If you would follow on to know the Lord, come at once to the open Bible expecting it to speak to you. Do not come with the notion that it is a thing which you may push around at your convenience. It is more than a thing, it is a voice, a word, the very Word of the living God.

- A. W. Tozer, The Pursuit of God

1. This One Thing I Must Do

2. Gambling and the Common Good

3. Neo-Reformed and Neo-Anabaptists in Dialogue

4. The Indignation Industry, or The Art of Blogging Controversies

5. The Bluetooth Tooth Brush

6. Hospitality and Generosity in Martin Luther’s Home

7. There will be more smartphones than humans on the planet by the end of 2012