by Jason Joyner | May 11, 2007 | Biblical worldview, Blog, books, fiction, music, writing craft
It’s amazing how sick kids and internet connection problems will kill your posting schedule. Be that as it may, here’s day 6 of “The Christian Marketplace”. (Once again, to see the discussion: Day 1, Day 2, Day 3, Day 4, and Day 5)
I ended the last day with the point “Give [the artist] the freedom to make the [art] they want, whether their main motivation is creative or spiritual.” My theme was the idea of letting the artist proceed with the major motivation that is driving them. If a band’s goal is to make a worship album, then I would want them to make the best worship album they can. If they are writing about some of the hard questions in life, then make it to the glory of God, even if it doesn’t answer the questions in 2 verses, a bridge, and the chorus.
The church has always struggled with a balance of the sacred and the worldly in art. How long were artists not allowed to draw the human body or other aspects of creation so as to “not have any idols”? Then again, how many artists had God as their motivation to make some of the greatest works of art in Western civilization?
Today Christians struggle with the idea that if they don’t try to use art as a vehicle for the gospel, then they are not truly “using their gifts for God.” I don’t think I agree with that. I did a little series back in September on Art and the Bible. In that I discussed how esteemed Christian philosopher Francis Schaeffer didn’t believe it either. If you create art with the only idea of carrying a message, he said it is little more than a tract. However, he felt a body of work would reveal a person’s worldview.
Again, Becky had a pertinent comment:
The pastor (Allistair Begg) described two errors–one being Christians who isolate from the culture to cling to the truth and the other those who participate in the culture at the price of truth. In the first instance, he said, the Christians have the truth but no one to share it with. In the second, they have lots of people, but have lost the truth to give them.
This is true, but I would hope that any Christian worth his salt (pun intented) would find a way to speak of Jesus, whether through their lives or their art. I know that I could not write without at some point speaking of my faith. However, I am not prepared to make that the defining principle for anyone else.
Again, I use the example (again, which is extreme) of Britney Spears. In her early days she tried to say that her faith could co-exist with her sexual persona. Unfortunately we have seen how that has played out. I don’t pretend to know what the eternal state of her soul is, but it is obvious by the fruit that she is having problems. A different artist is Carrie Underwood. She sings standard country music songs about cheatin’ and lyin’, but her biggest hit is still “Jesus Take the Wheel”. Also, even though I am not a country music fan, she does not seem to be cancelling out her witness by having public problems like Ms. Spears.
Am I beating a dead horse yet, or is this making sense? I guess my overall admonition would be that, in the field of pop culture, we (as a consuming audience) need to let Christian artists follow their call as best they are able, and give them grace if they do something artistically that doesn’t follow with our “preferred career course” for them. If Third Day wants to make a kicking rock album because they feel the freedom to, then by all means! If Ted Dekker writes a stunning novel that doesn’t spell out the gospel by page 300, because he has an artistic vision of what he is trying to accomplish, then kudos for him. If you don’t like it, leave it, don’t stumble over it, and see if you can pick up with them later. Michael W. Smith followed Amy Grant’s example in the early 90’s of writing wholesome love and pop songs, and had some mainstream success. However, that phase of his career has passed, and now he is writing the most worshipful music I’ve seen from him. This proves my point – over his storied career he probably has lost people on the way, only to pick them up later. If not, then he picks up new ones.
I don’t think I’ve exhausted this topic, but I believe I’m about done for the time being. Tomorrow I just want to wrap up some loose ends dealing with the question of “false teaching” and quality vs. the joy of bad books!
by Jason Joyner | May 11, 2007 | Biblical worldview, Blog, books, fiction, music, writing craft
It’s amazing how sick kids and internet connection problems will kill your posting schedule. Be that as it may, here’s day 6 of “The Christian Marketplace”. (Once again, to see the discussion: Day 1, Day 2, Day 3, Day 4, and Day 5)
I ended the last day with the point “Give [the artist] the freedom to make the [art] they want, whether their main motivation is creative or spiritual.” My theme was the idea of letting the artist proceed with the major motivation that is driving them. If a band’s goal is to make a worship album, then I would want them to make the best worship album they can. If they are writing about some of the hard questions in life, then make it to the glory of God, even if it doesn’t answer the questions in 2 verses, a bridge, and the chorus.
The church has always struggled with a balance of the sacred and the worldly in art. How long were artists not allowed to draw the human body or other aspects of creation so as to “not have any idols”? Then again, how many artists had God as their motivation to make some of the greatest works of art in Western civilization?
Today Christians struggle with the idea that if they don’t try to use art as a vehicle for the gospel, then they are not truly “using their gifts for God.” I don’t think I agree with that. I did a little series back in September on Art and the Bible. In that I discussed how esteemed Christian philosopher Francis Schaeffer didn’t believe it either. If you create art with the only idea of carrying a message, he said it is little more than a tract. However, he felt a body of work would reveal a person’s worldview.
Again, Becky had a pertinent comment:
The pastor (Allistair Begg) described two errors–one being Christians who isolate from the culture to cling to the truth and the other those who participate in the culture at the price of truth. In the first instance, he said, the Christians have the truth but no one to share it with. In the second, they have lots of people, but have lost the truth to give them.
This is true, but I would hope that any Christian worth his salt (pun intented) would find a way to speak of Jesus, whether through their lives or their art. I know that I could not write without at some point speaking of my faith. However, I am not prepared to make that the defining principle for anyone else.
Again, I use the example (again, which is extreme) of Britney Spears. In her early days she tried to say that her faith could co-exist with her sexual persona. Unfortunately we have seen how that has played out. I don’t pretend to know what the eternal state of her soul is, but it is obvious by the fruit that she is having problems. A different artist is Carrie Underwood. She sings standard country music songs about cheatin’ and lyin’, but her biggest hit is still “Jesus Take the Wheel”. Also, even though I am not a country music fan, she does not seem to be cancelling out her witness by having public problems like Ms. Spears.
Am I beating a dead horse yet, or is this making sense? I guess my overall admonition would be that, in the field of pop culture, we (as a consuming audience) need to let Christian artists follow their call as best they are able, and give them grace if they do something artistically that doesn’t follow with our “preferred career course” for them. If Third Day wants to make a kicking rock album because they feel the freedom to, then by all means! If Ted Dekker writes a stunning novel that doesn’t spell out the gospel by page 300, because he has an artistic vision of what he is trying to accomplish, then kudos for him. If you don’t like it, leave it, don’t stumble over it, and see if you can pick up with them later. Michael W. Smith followed Amy Grant’s example in the early 90’s of writing wholesome love and pop songs, and had some mainstream success. However, that phase of his career has passed, and now he is writing the most worshipful music I’ve seen from him. This proves my point – over his storied career he probably has lost people on the way, only to pick them up later. If not, then he picks up new ones.
I don’t think I’ve exhausted this topic, but I believe I’m about done for the time being. Tomorrow I just want to wrap up some loose ends dealing with the question of “false teaching” and quality vs. the joy of bad books!
by Jason Joyner | May 8, 2007 | Biblical worldview, Blog, books, fiction, music
For the prior discussion, see Day 1, Day 2, Day 3, and Day 4.
Ahem. I guess it is time to put up or shut up. I promised yesterday that I had my major point to make today. We have this Christian Marketplace. This is where I spend a lot of my time. Yesterday I gave some suggestions to help people maneuver and work in our little ghetto, but today my main point would be…
Freedom.
Allow me to make a declaration. This is for all Christian artists, or artists who are Christians. This is for all those who partake of the fruits of this marketplace.
Let the artist, whether author or musician, follow the Lord as they understand best, creating the best art they can. Let those who read or listen to music use their own taste and discernment to find what they enjoy, and leave what they don’t like.
Becky had this comment yesterday:
I think, in each case, what Christian art should do is point to Christ–in some way. Might be in creating a curiosity or a thirst or stimulating thought or bringing confirmation or opening up a dialogue or, yes, showing an example (a la much traditional CBA fiction).
Of course, that comes back to, who are we writing for?
See, my thinking is, I write for Christians who then can influence those in their circle who are not Christians. Maybe they can even influence them by giving them a piece of well-written fiction.
(Thanks for the great set-up!) Who exactly are we writing or playing for? That is up for the artist to decide. Once they do, give them the freedom to walk in that.
We need to realize that Ted Dekker needs to be allowed to write what he feels led to write. That will be different from Lori Wick to Karen Hancock to Chris Well. We need to allow Switchfoot to play songs that sound and speak differently than Chris Tomlin.
I love worship music, and enjoy a lot of the music that is produced in CCM right now. But I enjoy listening to the clever lyrics of Relient K, the searching words of Switchfoot, or even the rock of King’s X.
Becky mentioned Christian art pointing to Christ. I would agree to this statement. I would just say that it does not have to be blatant. I love the King’s X album Faith, Hope, Love. There are 3 songs there that are so amazing. “Everywhere I Go” is one of the best rock songs that deals with Jesus that I have ever heard. Yet His name is not mentioned. “Mr. Wilson” and “Legal Kill” are two songs that relate the horror of abortion. The songs are not preachy, but very beautiful artistically. The rest of the album is great, but not everything has to follow a formula.
Remember this whole (long) rant came from an Amazon review that criticized a book, not for its artistic merits, but its perceived spiritual shortcomings and ended with a personal admonition for the author to reexamine her Christian walk!
Some authors will feel like their audience is to Christians, to encourage them, like Becky said. Others may want to write the best crime novel they can, not targeting a particular audience. A song or album for a band may be produced to reach a wider audience, because that is what they were LED to do.
I remember that the band Third Day was criticized for their album Wire, since it wasn’t explicitly Jesus oriented. People said they were selling out for cross-over success. Recall that their previous albums were the ver popular Offerings I and II, very God-oriented praise and worship products. Only in Christian music would the fans complain like this. Give Third Day the freedom to make the album they want, whether their main motivation is creative or spiritual.
Ah, I see that I have come to another fork in the road – another point to make tomorrow. Not quite done yet folks (when will he ever give it a rest?)
by Jason Joyner | May 8, 2007 | Biblical worldview, Blog, books, fiction, music
For the prior discussion, see Day 1, Day 2, Day 3, and Day 4.
Ahem. I guess it is time to put up or shut up. I promised yesterday that I had my major point to make today. We have this Christian Marketplace. This is where I spend a lot of my time. Yesterday I gave some suggestions to help people maneuver and work in our little ghetto, but today my main point would be…
Freedom.
Allow me to make a declaration. This is for all Christian artists, or artists who are Christians. This is for all those who partake of the fruits of this marketplace.
Let the artist, whether author or musician, follow the Lord as they understand best, creating the best art they can. Let those who read or listen to music use their own taste and discernment to find what they enjoy, and leave what they don’t like.
Becky had this comment yesterday:
I think, in each case, what Christian art should do is point to Christ–in some way. Might be in creating a curiosity or a thirst or stimulating thought or bringing confirmation or opening up a dialogue or, yes, showing an example (a la much traditional CBA fiction).
Of course, that comes back to, who are we writing for?
See, my thinking is, I write for Christians who then can influence those in their circle who are not Christians. Maybe they can even influence them by giving them a piece of well-written fiction.
(Thanks for the great set-up!) Who exactly are we writing or playing for? That is up for the artist to decide. Once they do, give them the freedom to walk in that.
We need to realize that Ted Dekker needs to be allowed to write what he feels led to write. That will be different from Lori Wick to Karen Hancock to Chris Well. We need to allow Switchfoot to play songs that sound and speak differently than Chris Tomlin.
I love worship music, and enjoy a lot of the music that is produced in CCM right now. But I enjoy listening to the clever lyrics of Relient K, the searching words of Switchfoot, or even the rock of King’s X.
Becky mentioned Christian art pointing to Christ. I would agree to this statement. I would just say that it does not have to be blatant. I love the King’s X album Faith, Hope, Love. There are 3 songs there that are so amazing. “Everywhere I Go” is one of the best rock songs that deals with Jesus that I have ever heard. Yet His name is not mentioned. “Mr. Wilson” and “Legal Kill” are two songs that relate the horror of abortion. The songs are not preachy, but very beautiful artistically. The rest of the album is great, but not everything has to follow a formula.
Remember this whole (long) rant came from an Amazon review that criticized a book, not for its artistic merits, but its perceived spiritual shortcomings and ended with a personal admonition for the author to reexamine her Christian walk!
Some authors will feel like their audience is to Christians, to encourage them, like Becky said. Others may want to write the best crime novel they can, not targeting a particular audience. A song or album for a band may be produced to reach a wider audience, because that is what they were LED to do.
I remember that the band Third Day was criticized for their album Wire, since it wasn’t explicitly Jesus oriented. People said they were selling out for cross-over success. Recall that their previous albums were the ver popular Offerings I and II, very God-oriented praise and worship products. Only in Christian music would the fans complain like this. Give Third Day the freedom to make the album they want, whether their main motivation is creative or spiritual.
Ah, I see that I have come to another fork in the road – another point to make tomorrow. Not quite done yet folks (when will he ever give it a rest?)
by Jason Joyner | May 7, 2007 | Biblical worldview, Blog, books, fiction, music
Welcome back to Day 4 of my discussion of “the Christian Marketplace,” covering the realms of popular entertainment of fiction and music for the Christian community. (For previous posts, see Day 1, Day 2, and Day 3)
I think that I have set up the context of the Christian Marketplace (in regards to American culture at least). To sum up the 3 prior posts, you can say that this arena is plagued with a narrow interpretation of how it can operate. Christian musicians are chastised for sing a love song (that doesn’t have lyrics that can also be sung as if “Jesus is my boyfriend”). If they don’t have enough of a Jesus quotient in their songs, they are called “sellouts” who are trying for success in the “secular” music arena. Authors in the CBA have to walk a fine line theologically in how they represent real life, lest they be accused of supporting sin.
This is a deep topic that can require a lot to fully discuss it – blog posts can’t adequately cover all the issues. Let me say that I don’t want truly immoral art given a pass with the “Christian” label, whether to the artist or the art. Early in her career, Britney Spears maintained she was a Baptist and pledged to stay a virgin until marriage, while never following through. This is an extreme example of course. But where can we go with this issue of a Christian pop culture ghetto?
Some suggestions:
1. Don’t put artists on pedestals. These musicians and authors are not theologians. I don’t want to see wrong teaching promulgated any more than someone else, but their craft is for entertainment, encouragement, and emulating the Creator – not a expository sermon. The artist has a responsibility to do well with their craft (which should include accuracy), but don’t expect to be fully fed through pop culture, even Christianized culture. Reading good books and listening to positive music is a blessing, but we grow in our walk while dealing directly with our God, not while spinning the latest from Newsboys while reading Ted Dekker (or Karen Kingsbury, whatever your flavor!) Hey, I have been incredibly blessed when reading a novel that deals with themes that resonate with what God is speaking to me in my devotional life. God can even use these works to speak to you, but it shouldn’t be the norm, in my opinion.
2. Along with that: give grace. They are responsible for their Christian walk, not Joe Q. Christian who leaves a review on Amazon criticizing someone’s faith. Romans 14 deals with the tricky situation of dealing with differences in spiritual maturity. I won’t try to push The Light of Eidon or Germ on someone who is very careful about violence, as I don’t want to cause them a problem. Yet there needs to be understanding that is reciprocated to those who feel these books are appropriate for them.
3. The Christian Marketplace is undergoing transition. There is a discussion of the emerging church going on right now. This is a loaded term, but it can be applicable to what is happening to Christians in culture right now. The experiment of Christians circling the wagons to provide their own entertainment and therefore avoiding contamination with “the world” is undergoing change. This phenomenon is worth several days of its own focus, but I’ll just touch on it here.
There are a lot of Christian artists who are getting noticed outside the CCM world. I hear their songs on soundtracks of shows like Smallville. They may turn up on non-Christian format stations. Switchfoot started as a “Christian band”, but has crossed over to be a successful mainstream artist. I still see a Christian worldview in all of their music, even if it is not explicit. Bands like The Fray played to mainstream radio, but was picked up by Christian formats such as Air 1 due to their positive, faith-infused lyrics.
Christian fiction used to be relegated to prarie romances with a predictable formula: 1. main character is not a Christian or fallen away, 2. said person goes through trials related to their lack of faith, 3. the person has a conversion experience and all is well in the world. A stereotype, I know. Currently there are authors who are trying to write compelling stories where faith is a natural outgrowth of the plot and circumstances, not forcing a plot to fit a formula.
Hey, I love when someone finds the glorious freedom of the children of God, whether in real life or even as a story. The problem is that we live in a fallen world, and not everything turns out the way we want. There are novels being written that explore all aspects of life from a viewpoint of faith – just that not every story will end with the predicted ending. I remember being shocked when something very bad happened to the female protaganist in The Oath. She didn’t have a happy ending. But it fit the theme of the story, and the very Christian ideals in the book were served by his artistic choice. Plus, it made for a great twist, because I didn’t think he would go there.
4. I think this is the key point…but I’m writing a huge post, so I’ll save it for tomorrow!
by Jason Joyner | May 7, 2007 | Biblical worldview, Blog, books, fiction, music
Welcome back to Day 4 of my discussion of “the Christian Marketplace,” covering the realms of popular entertainment of fiction and music for the Christian community. (For previous posts, see Day 1, Day 2, and Day 3)
I think that I have set up the context of the Christian Marketplace (in regards to American culture at least). To sum up the 3 prior posts, you can say that this arena is plagued with a narrow interpretation of how it can operate. Christian musicians are chastised for sing a love song (that doesn’t have lyrics that can also be sung as if “Jesus is my boyfriend”). If they don’t have enough of a Jesus quotient in their songs, they are called “sellouts” who are trying for success in the “secular” music arena. Authors in the CBA have to walk a fine line theologically in how they represent real life, lest they be accused of supporting sin.
This is a deep topic that can require a lot to fully discuss it – blog posts can’t adequately cover all the issues. Let me say that I don’t want truly immoral art given a pass with the “Christian” label, whether to the artist or the art. Early in her career, Britney Spears maintained she was a Baptist and pledged to stay a virgin until marriage, while never following through. This is an extreme example of course. But where can we go with this issue of a Christian pop culture ghetto?
Some suggestions:
1. Don’t put artists on pedestals. These musicians and authors are not theologians. I don’t want to see wrong teaching promulgated any more than someone else, but their craft is for entertainment, encouragement, and emulating the Creator – not a expository sermon. The artist has a responsibility to do well with their craft (which should include accuracy), but don’t expect to be fully fed through pop culture, even Christianized culture. Reading good books and listening to positive music is a blessing, but we grow in our walk while dealing directly with our God, not while spinning the latest from Newsboys while reading Ted Dekker (or Karen Kingsbury, whatever your flavor!) Hey, I have been incredibly blessed when reading a novel that deals with themes that resonate with what God is speaking to me in my devotional life. God can even use these works to speak to you, but it shouldn’t be the norm, in my opinion.
2. Along with that: give grace. They are responsible for their Christian walk, not Joe Q. Christian who leaves a review on Amazon criticizing someone’s faith. Romans 14 deals with the tricky situation of dealing with differences in spiritual maturity. I won’t try to push The Light of Eidon or Germ on someone who is very careful about violence, as I don’t want to cause them a problem. Yet there needs to be understanding that is reciprocated to those who feel these books are appropriate for them.
3. The Christian Marketplace is undergoing transition. There is a discussion of the emerging church going on right now. This is a loaded term, but it can be applicable to what is happening to Christians in culture right now. The experiment of Christians circling the wagons to provide their own entertainment and therefore avoiding contamination with “the world” is undergoing change. This phenomenon is worth several days of its own focus, but I’ll just touch on it here.
There are a lot of Christian artists who are getting noticed outside the CCM world. I hear their songs on soundtracks of shows like Smallville. They may turn up on non-Christian format stations. Switchfoot started as a “Christian band”, but has crossed over to be a successful mainstream artist. I still see a Christian worldview in all of their music, even if it is not explicit. Bands like The Fray played to mainstream radio, but was picked up by Christian formats such as Air 1 due to their positive, faith-infused lyrics.
Christian fiction used to be relegated to prarie romances with a predictable formula: 1. main character is not a Christian or fallen away, 2. said person goes through trials related to their lack of faith, 3. the person has a conversion experience and all is well in the world. A stereotype, I know. Currently there are authors who are trying to write compelling stories where faith is a natural outgrowth of the plot and circumstances, not forcing a plot to fit a formula.
Hey, I love when someone finds the glorious freedom of the children of God, whether in real life or even as a story. The problem is that we live in a fallen world, and not everything turns out the way we want. There are novels being written that explore all aspects of life from a viewpoint of faith – just that not every story will end with the predicted ending. I remember being shocked when something very bad happened to the female protaganist in The Oath. She didn’t have a happy ending. But it fit the theme of the story, and the very Christian ideals in the book were served by his artistic choice. Plus, it made for a great twist, because I didn’t think he would go there.
4. I think this is the key point…but I’m writing a huge post, so I’ll save it for tomorrow!
