If you read my writings at all, you know I can type a mile a minute and usually write novels instead of blog posts… so when I realized that that was going to happen with the last blog, I knew I needed to split it up so it could at least be manageable. Plus I was needing to go get my exercise done for the day and I was running out of time. Ok. So here goes the continuation…
I’m having a hard time listening to what people label as “Christian” music and I’ll tell you why. Like I said in my last post, most all of the music (worship in particular) sounds alike. Here’s what I think the problem is. I believe with all of my heart that we (Christians) were NEVER supposed to separate out from the world. I know. I know. I’m probably going to get flamed for that statement because I’ve heard it a million times, “Come out from among them and be ye separate.” (by the way… notice the King James English in there. *wink wink*) See… I have a hard time believing that the same Jesus who sent his LOVED and ADORED disciples OUT would say in a nutshell, “Hey dudes. I know that I’ve been out and among the people of Israel for 3 years… but I really think you need to make sure and hole up in your buildings and separate yourselves from all society. That will keep you pure.” That’s a load. Here’s what I think is REALLY happening. People use that verse to justify their actions of being too afraid to go out and be the hands and feet of Jesus. So they say things like, “Well, that’s not my calling. After all, God said to ‘come out from among them and be ye separate.’” And we just keep staying in our cozy little comfortable places where everyone looks and sounds like us. The only problem with that (besides making you crazy) is that our creativity is squelched. If we don’t sound alike and don’t speak alike and don’t dress alike and don’t love the same things and hate the same things, then we are either rebellious, fighting against unity or we are told that we are not needed and tossed out on our ears.
What has happened in music within the church is that we have all been taught the evils of secular music. Now, I know that there is some music out there that is just not great to pour into your mind. For instance, I don’t care about “Yo mama” or whether she’s “hott” or not. (notice the double t’s… that means she’s REALLY hot. LOL) But there are some FANTASTIC musicians and creatives out there. Much like the royal family in England a long time ago, the Church has made the same mistake. All evil is “out there”. For years the royal family refused to marry outside of their royal blood line. They kept inbreeding. They thought that that would make them stronger. Instead, the constant inbreeding made them weaker and weaker. There was no new blood coming in. Eventually, they became so inbred that they began suffering from mental illness and other kinds of illness and became barren (remember Michal, Saul’s daughter and King David’s wife… yeah, she became barren too). We have done the same thing! No new “blood” is allowed in the “royal family”. If you’re different, your ostricized and completely unwelcome. Elvis Presley tried on two separate occasions to join up with the body of Jesus. And both times, he was rejected. They didn’t want “his kind”. He wasn’t worthy of the honor of being in the Church. Believe me. Jeremy and I have seen this scenario in our own lives. If you don’t sound like The Church, then you aren’t The Church. And again I ask, who made us the music and worship police? Of COURSE no one is going to sound like me. Everyone has their own song that they must sing. Everyone has a book in them to write. Everyone has a poem in them that must come out. Everyone has something unique that God has given to them. The Church has become the creative’s worst enemy. And I will not stop doing what I’m doing until that changes. And if I die before my eyes see the big change, I pray that my children will continue in my footsteps to see the creativity restored to The Church. I hope with everything in me that I am instilling in my kids the BEAUTY of diversity.
Let change come… and let it begin in me.
Live Life Loud!
~Sandy
