It's Way Too Late For This...

Ok.  I'm just getting the hang of this so give me a break if I seem like I'm not quite finishing my thoughts or concluding rashly.  My only goal is to stretch heads (my own included).

To address the former blog and the comments that ensued (which I hugely appreciated), I want to first explain that not all "christian music" fall[s in] the "uncreative" category (I have my personal favorites).  There are some "artists" out there though, and I won't name names, that need to be asked... "Why are you doing this?"  "Who wrote that for you?"

This is what it looks like from the outside.  It's an issue of job security.  Our problem is still our fear.  There is no change to be had in an environment of fear.  Pastors, afraid of losing their jobs, are ignoring their displaced congregation.  And the result?  A routine people can get used to.

For those of you who are having a hard time with this, I've included a format you might be more familiar with...

Bad churches will fill their sermons with MONOTONY. 

Christians in such environments will experience APATHY in worship.

This results in christians expressing APATHY to the world around them.

More on this later. My proposed solutions? Start a house church, their loads of fun.

Just Shoot Me.

Let's start this off with a bang, shall we?  I think we have some major issues as christians that need addressing and I'm not afraid of making anyone upset anymore.  It's high time, friends, that we stop putting up walls around the things that frighten us, the monster only gets bigger.  There was a time in my life where I would have read a blog like this one and pissed all over myself.  Like some of you who will read this blog I would have responded without having thought about the material for myself.  I might as well have had my churches logo tattooed on my forehead.  I challenge you who read this, THINK FOR YOURSELVES.  No longer accept any wind of doctrine, discard everything but Jesus, put down the theology book, let's talk about what we're doing with our lives.  Who is our God?

I think we have used the Bible to hold us back from the evil in the world.  We've looked around and become frightened by the teenage pregnancy, the drug and alcohol abuse, the arguments that cause hatred, the divorces that follow.  Instead of allowing the word to propel us forward into new exciting frontiers we've written "christian music" that sounds the same today as it sounded 20 years ago and nobody thinks that sucks because it's safe.  News flash!  The gospel is not safe, and if yours is it's not the gospel of Christ, the crucified son of God.  If we think that writing safe, uncreative music is glorifying the God who created us in His image with characteristics of His creativity, then I suggest we also do church the same way every sunday too (oh, yeah... we do).

What I'm suggesting is a complete change of pace, constantly.  Allowing us to get comfortable in church (and in worship) is one of the worst mistakes we've ever made as christians who call themselves "on fire".  Have you ever just sat and watched a worship "service" at a church?  Just remove yourselves from the heart string tugs and acronyms long enough to watch every one of the people sing the words to the music they heard last sunday as easily as they drive home to the suburbs everyday, having memorized the roads by heart and never realizing they even left church until the kids hop out onto the driveway and they remember that they forgot to stop at the grocery store.