Response

A friend of mine directed me toward the blog of Dan Burrell, pastor of a church down in Charlotte, NC. He posted his view on Relient K playing a show at a club. I disagreed with his post for the most part, agreeing on perhaps 5% of what he said. Below is my response. Here is the link to his post: http://www.danburrell.com/?p=357

Mr. Burrell,

Thank your for posting your opinion on this matter. I agree with the idea of Christians choosing wisely, but I disagree with how you went about making your judgements. It is apparent that you have fallen into a trap that a large majority of Christians encounter when it comes to entertainment. Not all Christian musicians are called to be an evangelistic group. Those who are, great. However, if you are looking for a band like Relient K to go the “JPM”, or Jesus Per Minute, route in their music, you are sorely mistaken.

I am a Christian who is disgusted with the “Christian Music Industry”. The industry has done a wonderful job deceiving the masses of Christians who buy products without a discerning ear. You would be surprised to learn about many supposedly evangelistic Christian bands who got into the industry because they could sell their product easier than the mainstream market. While I respect many of these artists as people, the majority of Christian artists are sacrificing quality and integrity for the sake of watering down the Gospel. Relient K never claimed to be an evangelistic group. The gentlemen in the band are all indeed Christians who happen to make music together. They are not solely marketed in the Christian industry. If you wanted to be technical and true to the Word, a band who wanted to be evangelistic would never sign to a “Christian” record label or play in churches. The majority of Christian musicians are playing to the already-saved, not the lost. You’re not seeing groups like Casting Crowns, Building 429, 4Him, Point of Grace, Avalon, Third Day, Michael W. Smith, Steven Curtis Chapman, and others preaching to the lost. They are generally performing in churches and other Christian venues to the people who already know the gospel and have accepted Christ as their Savior.

American Christianity has become too legalistic, individualistic, and has forgotten the true message of Christ. As some other posters have commented before me, Jesus called us to go out into the world and bring the Gospel. He loathed people who sat in their comfort zone within the church and refused to be challenged. Complacent Christianity is one of the biggest problems facing the American church today. Christians in this great country have become too focused on issues that are trite and are ignoring the more pressing issues.

Getting back to your assumption about clubs, I can agree that many clubs are seedy establishments and I would not go there as a young man of 24 as I am. However, there are clubs I have attended where alcohol sales have been not allowed when a Christian band is performing. Not all clubs are places for people to exchange numbers and hook up. I believe your assumption and generalization of this club being the standard for all clubs is ill-founded.

Thank you for giving me the time to respond to your comments. Christians don’t have to agree on everything as long as we agree on the main thing: We are all sinners, and Christ died for us. God Bless, Mr. Burrell.

"For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God"

I had a long, well thought-out post and then Safari decided to crap out on me. These things do NOT happen on a Mac, but it did. Boo!

Burden lifted!

I sat for the PHR (Professional in Human Resources) Certification exam on Thursday and I am glad to say I passed. It was a stressful time but God helped me through it. I could have studied more than I did, but I was fortunate to know enough to pass the exam. Woohoo!