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.
About Me
- A.P. Boynton
- Batavia, NY, United States
- I'm a 25 year old Christian guy. I am working on my Master's in Human Resource Development at St. John Fisher College in Rochester, NY. I am a music fanatic and have so much on my iPod, I sometimes wonder if it will all get a chance to be played. I also occasionally write for http://www.3guysandasportspage.com
5 comments:
Hey Aaron!
Dude, you've got passion and a vision of what "it" should be! Don't lose it!
Paul
Hey look, Ethan Luck has thrown his hat into the ring. And so have I:
“How about a little more responsibility and lot less rationalization?”
I’d like to see that, too. Let’s start with the parents. Responsible parents would never let their 15-year-old daughter go alone to a venue that they know nothing about, whether they thought the concert was “Christian” or not! I loved to go to concerts at that age, but until I turned 18, I would always go with a supervised group or with my parents. It was just the smart thing to do. These things that you’re criticizing Relient K for… you should be turning around and telling it to the parents. Relient K didn’t ask for anyone to assume that every venue they play at is safe for children to attend without supervision. (To my knowledge, the band doesn’t even have much control over where they play - management handles that. I’m sure if they requested to play somewhere or not play somewhere specifically, management could comply, but it’s not like they sit down and research every venue for themselves.)
I completely AGREE with you that that scene you described (little “Suzie”) should not happen! I agree that it’s not only a tempting situation, but also a dangerous one. I APPLAUD you for checking out the venue before the show, and alerting the parents to the fact that it is used as a club/bar. In my opinion, that’s exactly the right thing to do. :) But where I disagree with you is when you turned around and criticized the band for not doing a better job of babysitting children that aren’t theirs. That’s not their job. Like I posted on Jon Schneck’s blog - “They’re doing great at what their job IS - being excellent musicians who glorify God with their talent.”
Also - you keep coming back to the S&M thing, and I think it’s a little ridiculous to bring that up as if it has anything to do with Relient K. First of all, that’s NOT the main purpose of the club (I could understand your concern if they played at a place called “S&M Central” or something). It’s just an event that happens there. Tons of weird events happen at tons of venues (not just dance clubs and bars), and you can’t hold a band accountable for them, because there’s no relation there. I can understand if you don’t want to give your own money to a venue that supports that kind of event, but why is it Relient K’s fault for not obtaining records of everything that goes on at every venue they ever appear at, when these events have nothing to do with them? (And I’m sure you’ve raised much more publicity for the Purgatory Parties than the Relient K concert did, considering that neither myself nor my husband - nor many others that I’ve talked to - knew about them before reading this blog. Way to go! ;) )
I am a 20-year-old female who attended this show, accompanied by my husband who just turned 24. And I have to say… I am amazed at your imagination! The dark, dirty, seedy, drug-using, sexually perverse scene you seem to have in your head isn’t at all what I experienced. I can understand why your worried mind might go there, though, so let me put it at ease… First of all, the area that the venue is in isn’t really “seedy.” It may not be a country club in an upper-middle-class suburb, but it’s not in the slums, either. It’s probably not a good idea to take a walk there alone at night, but is that really a good idea anywhere? Second, the majority of the people that I saw while waiting in line for the show were not sketchy 20-or-30-somethings who wanted to enjoy a drink and a smoke while preying on minors. They were music fans! I’d say at least half of them wore some kind of band t-shirt, and at least 2/3 of them also bore “X”’s on their hands - the mark that security gave people under 21 so that they could not buy drinks. There was a young girl in front of me, probably no older than 13, who was attending the concert with her PARENTS. They gave her and her younger brother cotton balls to use as earplugs, to protect their hearing. Third, once we got in (after an hour, thanks to the long process of ID-checking and the $2 surcharge, which I agree is a racket), the concert looked like almost every other show I’ve been to. And I’ve been to plenty of shows - usually “Christian” but sometimes in “secular” venues. Yes, there were some people drinking alcohol. Yes, I’m sure there were some people lighting up. But mostly, this was the scene - over a thousand people packed into a room like sardines, jumping up and down, throwing their hands in the air, and squirming around occasionally to try and get to a spot where they can actually see. People clapping, singing along at the top of their lungs, and holding up cell phones to call others or to take pictures. There was a balcony area for those who wanted more breathing room and a better view (and were willing to give up the rush of being in the crowd), and that’s where I saw the family with the cotton balls go. Were there opportunities for young people to get into bad situations? I’m sure there were, but like most other people there, I was too focused on the show to really notice. At that point, Amos’ wasn’t primarily a dance club or a bar (and it wasn’t an S&M club at all, as far as I could tell) - it was a concert hall. It was a building to house a show. Please, take it from someone who was there, and who is telling you the truth… it’s not as bad as you’re imagining, at all. I’m not defending whatever weird things that the venue might host. I’m just trying to dispell your notions of that the show was actually like.
Also - I know you are a pastor and probably have your own set views about alcohol, but the view I (and many Christian leaders) hold is that drinking alcohol itself is not sinful. I realize that many people get drunk at a bars, and because of that sin they are more easily tempted to engage in others. Drunkenness is something we must be careful not to endorse. I also realize you’re concerned about youth here, and I understand why you wouldn’t want to expose them to a situation that involves alcohol. But a group of Christians, glorifying God, and playing at a place that serves alcohol… is not a contradiction. :) Once I turn 21 this summer, I may want to enjoy an alcoholic drink while watching one of my favorite bands perform. I may have that drink in one hand while raising the other in a moment of worship and praise to God. And that would be my choice to make - and that’s according to my interpretation of the Bible, not according to me wanting to be “rebellious” or “self-indulgent,” any more than my drinking a Dr. Pepper right now is either of those. (Well, maybe I’ll give you self-indulgent, but who doesn’t enjoy a sugary carbonated beverage every now and then? Haha.)
You say that you aren’t attacking Relient K, but I challenge you to read your post again and see if that’s really true. You’re obviously not familiar with their music, but “rk” has made some very intelligent comments that should give you a little more insight into the band. They may not constantly scream and shout about Jesus, waving their faith around like a flashy banner for all to see. But you know who does that kind of thing in the Bible? The Pharisees. Now, I’m not trying to call anyone a Pharisee - I’m just saying that it might not be wise to hold up that behavior as ideal. The most effective witnesses, to me, are the believers who speak Jesus’ name with awe and reverence… the ones who speak boldly about Him without making a spectacle of it. The ones who live in such a way that even if you couldn’t hear them speak, you would know that Christ was in them. The ones who are still human… who acknowledge their own doubts and struggles and desires (in the form of songs, perhaps), who know that they “have not already been made perfect,” but who still “press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” And, after following Relient K’s music for several years as a discerning Christian, I believe that’s who this band is. And I’m GLAD they play at places where non-Christians are likely to hang out… we’re ALL called to follow in Jesus’ footsteps. (See Matthew 9:9-12 of an example where Jesus essentially went to a party full of people who were not squeaky-clean. He didn’t indulge in their sin, but he didn’t refuse to stay and eat with them either. “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick.” If they are bringing a bit of God’s hope to the hopeless, in a way that doesn’t turn people away, they might be doing more good than the average “youth group band” who essentially preaches to the choir in safe and sterile environments.) Of course Relient K is not Jesus - they’re not perfect, but none of us are. From what I can see, their music, their words, and their lives all bring glory to God. I hope… maybe after having a talk with one or two of the band members themselves… you’ll start to see that, too.
***
Just wanted to add that I came off as a little harsh against “the average youth group band,” but that I think those have their place, too. :) My favorite band for the past several years has been Audio Adrenaline, and they definitely made music primarily for Christians. Their music is encouraging to me and to a lot of others, and I don’t deny that there is merit to that.
I’m just saying that Relient K may be doing more to spread the Gospel than any given band (not every band) who chooses to stay insulated in the “Christian” world.
haha, yeah, he was . . . he's pretty much out of the doghouse now, though, since he apologized not only for what he DID, but also for acting like there was nothing wrong for several days after.
All is well in the land of Jenny!
I've been having this argument about "Christian" music with people for years.
And I always come back to something Jon Foreman said (lead singer of Switchfoot). I can't remember the exact quote, but it was something to the effect of Music cannot be Christian. It doesn't have a soul, it can't be saved. You can have music written with Christian or written by Christian artists, but there is no such thing as "Christian music".
Foreman has done some great interviews on the subject. here's one and this one is just a great collection of quotes.
Well said!
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