"safe for the little ears"

I don't like Christian music. In fact, I pretty much hate it.

("WHAT!" they all say with disbelief)

[First of all, maybe I should restate the above statement as: I don't like CCM music. However, most people consider Christian music and CCM music to be one and the same, which is why I said "Christian" in my first statement.]

I have a variety of reasons for disliking "Christian music" and they range from personal bias to what I hope is reasonable. One of the reasons I hate it is because of the safe-ness of "Christian music".

Safe-ness. This quality is most frequently seen in radio singles; it basically entails a song that has absolutely no potential of offending or making anyone uncomfortable, and is basically uncreative in musical and lyrical style. Like pretty much all radio singles, they are developed to be pleasing to the public and the whims of the popular music critics (in the case of "Christian" radio singles that would be CCM Magazine, etc).

This type of music is widely listened to by Christian homeschooling (or Christian private schooling) families who want their children to be able to listen to popular music that is "fun for the kids" and not offensive to the parents' values.

I believe that parents are right in monitoring what their young children listen to--as parents they have the responsibility to protect their child from *cough* trash. However, this trend has caused a demand for more "family friendly" radio stations (google "family friendly radio stations" and see how many you find). Because of this demand there are now many many radio stations that are created or converted to making "family friendliness" their biggest promotional slogan. As I noted earlier, having stations for families with young children is not a bad thing at all; however, this demand has created the near absence of "Christian" stations that will play anything else. These "safe" stations are excellent for young children but for the most part I think they are leaving the teenagers excluded. Drawing from my own experience--which I realize is biased to some degree--I know that the very idea of listening to an hour of Casting Crowns, Chris Tomlin, Newsboys' worship tunes, Natalie Grant, and Matthew West gives me the strong impulse to play U2's rather looked-down-upon song "Get On Your Boots" from the top of my roof at the highest volume possible ("Satan loves a bomb scare but he won't scare you").

My point is that I believe that this accumulation of "safe" stations has/will cause many Christian teens who are growing up and trying to figure out who they are separate from their families to possibly be driven to rebel and turn the other direction [enter Eminem, Kanye West, Beyonce, and every other musician you really wouldn't want your kids listening to].

Obviously, it would be tragic for these teens to avoid any music with a Christian worldview, which is why I think it is important for there to be radio stations and artists who are willing to get out of the cliche box of radio formulas designed to gain popularity with parents and DJs who think their children can't handle anything more alternative than tobyMac's "Lose My Soul".

Until this happens in my area, "Christian" radio has my eternal scorn (I might even rate it as worse than country music)

camels with egg eyes

^watch the entire vid and then laugh for 10 minutes straight. oh.man.

do you only love the ones who look like you

Where is God in the night sky?

Where is God in the city light?

Where is God in the earthquake?

Where is God in the genocide?

-“Vise Versus” by Switchfoot

If God is love why do people suffer unjustly? Why do the wicked get away with as much as they do? Why doesn’t God punish them with bolts of lightning or something even worse like making the earth eat them alive like he did in the Old Testament? The question comes up in almost everything. I’ve been reading Job off and on for the last two months and this question comes up in Zophar’s final speech as he tells Job that he [Job] must be wicked because of the ‘punishment’ God has afflicted on him. In Job 20:4-5, Zophar exclaims “Do you not know this of old, since man was placed on earth, that the triumphing of the wicked is short, and the joy of the hypocrite is but for a moment?” and in the next chapter Job replies “How often is the lamp of the wicked put out? How often does their destruction come upon them, the sorrow God distributes in His anger?” (Job 21:17). Job’s question is one that is commonly relatable I think. How are we supposed to have peace in God in our world where parents in Thailand think nothing of selling their 13 year old daughters into prostitution so they can afford to buy color televisions for the sole purpose of fitting in with neighbors? How about people like Joseph Kony turning young African children into monster soldiers? I’m sure everyone can come up with at least two examples of something that is obviously not right in our world, some might even go as far as to say “everything”.

Are there complete answers to these questions? Some people would say that we can never know the answers because our poor little puny brains can’t take all the divine wisdom that went into making the universe, which could be slightly true, but seriously . . . that seems like an excuse to walk on without examining things closely—therefore giving us the label as “blind” and “unscientific”. No, we can’t know EVERYTHING (like we don’t know the hour Jesus will come back) but if we develop our God-given brain cells by thinking critically about our world and the issues of life (like why bad people live the longest and never seem to get punished) we could at least come to a better understanding of what we DON’T know instead of walking on nonchalantly painting flowers in soft pastel colors.

I think there are a few answers to be found for why the wicked “prosper”. The first and foremost being that “[t]he Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9). I think the reality of the matter is that God is so much more loving than we are—He wants people like Joseph Kony and terrorist groups who kill American and Iraqi troops to come to repentance. He cares about them as much as He cares about anyone else—“for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23) and then “[t]hey lie down alike in dust, and worms cover them” (Job 21:26). I have a hard time stomaching the idea that God can love a person who maims little children for life by slashing their faces with machetes, but then who am I to “. . . teach God knowledge, since He judges those on high” (Job 21:22)?

Also, I think there is a sense of divine comedy as Jon Foreman wrote, “[i]s this fiction or divine comedy? Where the last of the last finish first—living is simple”. Perhaps the greatest irony of all time—if anyone wants to be great they must be the servant of all (Luke 22:27). I think God planned it this way to keep His followers humble. So because of these seemingly reverse rules of life, the righteous (like Job and Lazarus in the parable) suffer in sackcloth and ashes and the Rich Man eats and drinks . . . and yes one day they always die. It would be very easy to say “A-ha! They finally get what they deserved along!” when the wicked finally do die, but I think we need to be constantly reminded that God still loved them to the bitter end—even though they rejected Him—and if we call ourselves His disciples, we too must love the cruel men who think nothing of taking a 15-year-old’s virginity away from her for the sake of supposed self enrichment. We must, when thinking about these people, bring into account the thought-provocative question “do you only love the ones who look like you”? When we look around us and see all that is wrong, we must remember that we are part of a story—a story that is written by all the choices we make—that does have an end, and judgment shall come.

such waste

Such waste. I am amazed how much time/money/emotions/etc are wasted. For the last two days, I have sat behind these two high school girls in Environmental Science, and because the classroom is so small the tables are really condensed—which means that if you are sitting behind two people talking you’re going to hear every single word they say whether you wanted to or not. So why do they annoy me? All they have talked about for the last two days is how much of a retard this one dude they know is, how one of them would never and should never go out with this other guy, the best ways to embarrass other girls who don’t fit in very well at proms, how to make guys think you like them, how to deal with older brother’s girlfriends, and complain about younger sisters who hog the bathroom at 7:15 in the morning. You can classify this as a rant if you wish, but just to clear up a bias that might be appearing—public schoolers aren’t the only ones who talk on and on about meaningless things. I’ve been around both groups quite a lot, and their conversation topics are just as insipid. No, the homeschooled “Christian” kids don’t scheme out how to tear down other people at proms but they know all about the latest PG-13 rated movies and can talk on (excuse me, giggle) about I have no idea what. I want to write here that I’m not trying to point fingers at anyone and I don’t want anyone’s feelings to be hurt, but seriously, I don’t think I really care because trying not to offend people in this issue is unavoidable when such worthless conversations make me sick. (What happened to the Rebelution craze? It came, and the Harris boys were so “cute” and they had such a motivating message, and then life went on and no one mentions it anymore). For added effect, I waste a lot of time myself. I can spend hours surfing the web when I could be studying for school or for personal enrichment. As I surf there is this book on the college library shelf called Satanism Today that is just screaming for my attention, I’ve got Kevin Bales’ Disposable People sitting on my nightstand still marked in the middle of chapter one, I’ve got a plot for a story running around, I could write poetry, I could spend time at Serenity House, I could do a lot of things, and yet I’m still sitting there surfing the web—doing pretty much nothing.Three college kids from California flew to Uganda and made a documentary about the longest war in Africa (23 years and counting); they are now petitioning for people to save Joseph Kony’s 3,000 child soldiers. These child soldiers are children around 7 to 12 years old who are stolen from their parents by Kony’s LRA and turned into adolescent monsters that kill people and if they escape they never forget their captivity. These three guys are trying to change the world, and they are succeeding. There is Jamie T., one of my biggest heroes, who printed t-shirts to pay the bills to get a suicidal friend through rehab and now heads one of the most popular nonprofit organizations (To Write Love on Her Arms) on myspace. These people are being brave and stepping out of their comfort zones with the goals of changing the world (how cliché that has become).It’s true you don’t have to be a saver of the world to make a difference. The smallest choices you make are just as important (if not more). So why don’t we all make the small choice to stop discriminating against people that weren’t raised the same way we were. Why don’t we make the small choice to stop talking about worthless things like crushes on boys/girls and movies based in fantasy of unrealistic adventure and glamorized sex. Why don’t we turn off our sappy love ditties and start talking to our friends about meaningful things like committed relationships, inspirational music (stuff that motivates you to see the difference between who you are and who you could be and how it is and how it should be), and how we can actually live out what we’ve been raised to believe in Sunday school for so many years.And if that means we have to be exposed to the raw reality of the world—so be it, I’d much rather have reality no matter how painful than to having to wallow in fantasy land where everyone walks in with cheery smiles that are the polar opposite of what’s really on the inside. Right now, as I’m finishing this I’m thinking: no one will care, because they never do. Do I even care that much? Will I make the small choices of doing meaningful things tomorrow or will I waste my time? Come on and prove me wrong! I dare you to bring up something controversial with your friends and actually have a quality conversation.

I think a blog post is in order. Its been a while since a real one has appeared I know--this week is finals week for me, now I'm completely done.

Currently Listening To: The Imposter - Kevin Max
Chaotic Resolve - Plumb
Waiting For Me To Listen To: Funeral & Neon Bible - Arcade Fire
Closer - Jars of Clay
Citsuca - Timmy Curran
Song Suggestion: "Closer" - Jars of Clay

Currently Reading: Myspace Generation - Candice Kelsey


So spring break is upon us. I don't know about everyone else in the world but my week is jam-packed with amazing things to do! Or perhaps a week full of things that I need to remember to do!

One of the things on my list is to re-arrange my wall. My bedroom is brown. Very brown. Brown walls, carpet, ceiling--my room is very brown. A year or so ago, I had the inspiration to pull out a ton of random photos, papers, posters and the like and tape them to my wall. This last week I have officially decided that its coming down. Why? At night I keep hearing these slipping and falling sounds, and one night I had my biggest poster on my lap like a little blanket and the other one on the floor by my bed like a doormat--I was not impressed. So sometime next week, its all coming down and the only things on my wall will be brownness and my Switchfoot posters--the posters because that is what posters are for, and they help me sleep at night [sarcasm].

Tomorrow, I'm attending the wedding of one of my best friends. So many people I know are getting married and growing up; I watch them from my rather faraway vantage point and hopefully learn from them. The passage of time is so strange. Almost strange enough to make Neverland somewhat appealing to me. So, I sit here typing, watching my friends and myself grow old. Its actually quite frightening. Not that I'm afraid to die, its the surreality of it all that is truly scary--yes, I am born, I live, I die. Is this a dream? No I know it isn't. But it still feels like one.

Scripture Passage Of The Day

“In that day the Branch of the Lord shall be beautiful and glorious; and the fruit of the earth shall be excellent and appealing for those of Israel who have escaped. And it shall come to pass the he who is left in Zion and remains in Jerusalem will be called holy—everyone who is recorded among the living in Jerusalem. When the Lord has washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion, and purged the blood of Jerusalem from her midst, by the spirit of judgment and by the spirit of burning, then the Lord will create above every dwelling place of Mount Zion, and above her assemblies, a cloud and smoke by day and the shining of a flaming fire by night. For over all the glory there will be a covering. And there will be a tabernacle for shade in the daytime from the heat, for a place of refuge, and for a shelter from storm and rain.” – Isaiah 4:2-6

Is Your Worship Life In Need Of A Boost?

Worship: Kicking it up an notch
Is your worship life in need of a boost?
Then look no farther...

Is your worship life in need of a boost? Then look no further... Check out CCM Magazine's annual "Worship Advertorial" for information on new products and services. Check it out now!

SOURCE

*looks bewildered* Reminds me of the whats written on the bottom of my Kleenex box.

Is there/should there be a difference between one's "worship" life and regular life? I think not. Should people advertise "new products and services" to enhance other people's spirituality? I think not.

"...bigger than any big idea..."