[This is part of a new series on “The Christian Musician“. Check out the rest of the posts here.]
Why does the word “Christian” conjure up images of poor music and watered down messages?
Why are some of the top “Christian” artists hesitant to be labeled in such a way?
It’s time we return to the heart. What does it mean to be a Christian musician? What is the goal of our music?
Thanks for stopping by. It’s about to get good.
I am pumped to begin our series on The Christian Musician. It’s a rather daunting task, considering the response this last post received. I know we all won’t see eye to eye on everything (which makes for fantastic discussions).
As we all know, there are Christians who play in many unique musical contexts.
- Worship Leaders
- CCM
- Secular artist
- Professional, touring musician
- Session players
- Opera
- Classical musicians
- Music teachers
Many of these are not explicitly Christian contexts, yet we find Christians here.
It’s interesting how certain arenas carry more stigma than others. Not many would argue that playing classical music is “secular” or wrong for a Christian to engage in, yet we are quick to stone a Christian who sings popular love songs in a local bar.
But before we judge other artists and their status with God, it’s important that we define what our goal as musicians and artists should be.
You may be wondering, Can this question even be answered?
Aren’t all our goals different?
Yes and no. While we may have individual career goals, the goal of a Christian musician is the same. It needs to be the same.
Whatever You Do?
I believe there’s a Scripture that guides us in this matter of the goal of a Christian musician:
“So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God” (I Cor. 10:31).
Whatever you do.
That’s saying a lot.
Christianity isn’t reserved for Sundays and when you’re hanging out with your Christian friends. Everything you do is for the glory of God.
Though music is a massive grey area, I think an important question to guide your decision on whether to engage in certain kinds of music is, “Can I do this to the glory of God?” It could be argued that anything could be done to the glory of God, but that’s simply not true.
You can’t have an affair to the glory of God.
You can’t rob a bank to the glory of God.
You can’t covet to the glory of God.
But you already knew that.
If your goal is to glorify God, ask yourself whether it’s possible in your current musical context. Are there moral contradictions in your actions and music?
We humans are good at convincing ourselves anything is OK – that God will understand. Assess yourself honestly.
How Do We Glorify God?
But does music have to mention the name “Jesus” to glorify God? Does it have to be in a major key and follow the I iv V IV chord progression? It has to be a slow and steady, pop ballad in order to glorify God, right?
Glorifying God is all about your heart and motivation as an artist.
What does that look like? Here are some tips:
1. Speak the name of Jesus – While your music may not speak the name of Jesus, your life needs to. Living a moral life is good. People may notice that. But there’s comes a time in your journey when you need to tell others about Jesus. We can meet people’s material needs all the way to the gates of hell. We can be as honest, kind, and pure as possible, but it’s Jesus Christ who saves. We need to speak His name to those who don’t know Him.
2. Create great art – Don’t create music just to fit a mold. Don’t copy and paste what you hear on the radio. Create music worthy of our creative God. Many don’t realize this, but the very act of creating can bring glory to God. It’s what we were made to do. Our Creator is the essence of creativity. Be mindful of this and go create for His glory and fame in the earth.
3. Live a “today” faith – Don’t just tell stories from yesterday. Don’t just ride the wave of what God did in your heart 10 years ago. Live with a fresh encounter. We glorify God in our music when we live for Him today – when we pursue a living relationship with Jesus and refuse to fake it.
4. Set up accountability – If you play music outside the church, you should set up accountability within it. Make sure you have a home church and a pastor that is holding you accountable. The pull of the world is strong. Don’t trust in yourself to stay focused.
But this presents a few more questions as to how one really glorifies God with music. I believe you can glorify God with secular music and you can seriously offend God with Christian music. Believe it or not, Israel did this constantly. But that’s for another post.
Question: OK, friends. Let’s discuss. Do you agree that the glory of God should be our goal? What other tensions does this present? You can leave a comment by clicking here.
“Glorifying God is all about your heart and motivation as an artist.”
Bingo. Music is a tool. Like a knife. Can be used for good or ill. Choose wisely.
I like the knife illustration. Very cool. What do you think are some creative ways we can use music for good? That might need to be an extra post 🙂
The knife illustration is not new to me, I think I heard it first from my Dad.
I think that could be a great post. One way I want to use music for good is to redeem genres that are usually thought of as strictly non-Christian. Think rap, and how artists like Lecrae are redeeming that back to good uses.
Totally, man. Lecrae is awesome. Love it.
I agree with Josh, Music is a tool, and can be used for good and bad. The main difference should be the wisdom part – where, how and when?
Just making ‘Christian Music’ does not make you a Christian!
Yes, heart and motive has an impact – but the spiritual part is the most important – we should be led by the Spirit of God as to where, how and when!
Gert, what exactly do you mean by “where, how, and when?” Just trying to gain some clarity.
There is a tine and place for everything (and may I add a method) – We do not need to make a fool of ourselves as God is not a fool.
When we do things we should be aware of our circumstances, the people who are listening, and we should firstly believe what we are saying/doing before we engage in some ridiculous discussion like “who was Cain or Abel’s wives?” – some things are better left alone before it causes trouble.
This is where we all need wisdom to know the where, how and when of what we are doing. It is important to have cooperative worship in church and easier to speak/preach about forgiveness, atonement, the Blood, the crucifixion, etc in church because people understand the terms – in the world, you may be speaking the truth, but to some people, some of these terms are unknown or even foolish. Doing evangelism in your city will be totally different than evangelism in some remote place deep in Africa!
We need wisdom, and we can only get it through prayer and being led by His Grace.
My prayer every day: “Holy Spirit…I need You”
That’s like the caveat to my previous comment… Correct intentions don’t always mean correct results. We definitely need the Holy Spirit’s direction.
my brother says the goal is “hot christian chicks” 🙂
I gave him an “lol”
fyi: he’s a christian musician too
Wow. I forgot to add that point 😉
Addressing the Whatever You Do section, I would say that it means anything that is neutral, do it to the glory of God. In other words, anything that isn’t explicitly in His service, do it for His glory.
In regards to your first point of “Speak the name of Jesus,” this can be done by speaking actions, not just words. If I’m a Christian plumber, I’m not necessarily going to talk about Jesus as I’m discussing a problem with pipes to a customer. Sure, it may come up but evangelism isn’t the only way we can speak the name of Jesus.
I’m a firm believer of speaking the character of Jesus with our actions. That goes for music as well. You can never speak the name of Jesus in your songs and still give Him glory. As a musician, people are intrigued with your lifestyle (especially if you become successful). Living out kingdom principles in the sight of others speaks so much more than thanking your “Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” at an awards show.
Tony, I totally hear what you’re saying. My concern with the “actions louder than words” argument is that oftentimes it doesn’t lead people to Jesus. Even meeting people’s material needs isn’t the whole picture. Sure, God can use it. But there’s a lot of moral people who don’t know Christ.
I feel we need to be challenged to actually speak of Him. Not in a creepy, weird, Bible-bashing way. But drawing attention to Him. Not so much in an “award show” setting, but behind the scenes with people and by giving honest testimony onstage. I’m open to being challenged, though. Thanks bro!
I guess I’ll ask you the same thing I asked Michael. Is glorifying God the same thing as “leading people to Jesus”?
If you say yes, then that’s the end of the discussion. If not, it may be worthwhile to consider the other perspective.
I’m not against sharing the Gospel by any means and I believe we all need to walk in more boldness in that area. But not everyone responds to words. I’ve seen people pointed to Jesus by actions as easily as those who looked for every opportunity to squeeze Jesus’s name into a conversation.
As a musician (not explicitly writing about faith) living for Jesus, I think it would be easier to express your faith (even indirectly) in your music than with some other professions. But that’s not always the case.
There’s an old saying that goes: Preach at all times and if necessary use words.
I think it was a nun but I can’t remember who that is attributed to. Point being, a righteous life is as good if not better testimony than a good word.
Applying to music, make good music, write good lyrics, and use that to reflect (like that idea too) the glory of God.
Ok, and my disclaimer: the quote is not an excuse to not say anything. Your life should lead to questions about your life, and then you need to be prepared to make that defense.
That’s a quote attributed to Saint Francis of Assisi if I am not wrong 🙂
I think you’re right.
Sounds right.
I definitely think “leading people to Jesus” is a part of glorifying God. It’s definitely not the whole picture, but it’s a huge part. But I see where you’re coming from. It just saddens me to see Christian musicians who set out to lead people to Jesus through their lifestyle and end of falling away, trying to fit in, and remain popular. I think it’s rare for someone who never speaks of Christ to remain true in their calling.
That’s the line you have to walk. We are to be in the world but not of the world. If we spend too much time trying to be accepted by the world we miss the point. But it’s easier if the point of the cross is presented in language the world understands.
Tony, I’d say those kinds of actions are great, but they are not *in and of themselves* pointing people to Jesus. How will the plumbing customer know you love Jesus if you don’t at some point actually, literally speak His name? I’m not saying you have to artificially work Him in to a conversation, or have a fish in your logo (actually, don’t do either 🙂 ), but I’d say the actions are the opportunity for someone to ask you about why you come across differently – maybe you’re the best, most honest plumber around, maybe you go above-and-beyond, whatever – it’s 1 Peter 3:15 stuff to me – we’re called to be prepared to give a reason for the hope that’s within us. To me, that implies that people would somehow see the hope, and then we get a chance to share.
So yes, we reflect Jesus in our actions, but that in itself is not actually speaking the Gospel. I would love for our Christ-like actions to be the doors that open to the chance to speak the Gospel. I’d concur with David – at some point, I think evangelism is literally speaking the Good News. It goes back to that old saying, “Preach the Gospel always. If necessary, use words.” I’d contend that it’s always necessary to use words.
I completely agree with you Michael, but is evangelism and glorifying God the same thing?
Is it possible to glorify God in your profession without explicitly talking about Jesus? Or are you saying that they are the same thing?
I tend to think they definitely intersect but aren’t the same thing.
Good thoughts, Tony – I don’t think they are. A Christian plumber glorifies God in his work by doing honest work, charging a fair price, being on time, etc. But that is between the plumber and his God – it’s the plumber being faithful to God’s placing him in that vocation. IS that evangelism? I would say no.
Now, could it lead to the point where the plumber gets to actually do evangelism? I would always hope so!
I agree they aren’t the same thing – that’s why I responded to your post. It seemed like you were saying they are the same things – that a plumber is doing evangelism just by being a good plumber. I would disagree with that. The plumber is certainly glorifying God just by being a good plumber, but that doesn’t necessarily edify or evangelize his customer or others around him. That’s why I think that “speaking the name of Jesus” literally means *speaking*, and not just the name of Jesus, but the actions of Jesus. By definition, the “evangelion” is the Good News of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection, and what that means for us.
Tony & Michael, fantastic discussion. I appreciate you guys pushing this. It’s an important conversation. You guys are world class!
Thanks, David, I agree that it’s important for us to be clear on this (and to be doing BOTH the acting and the speaking – yes, they’re distinct, but they’re not isolated). Thanks for the encouragement, and Tony, thanks for the fraternal discussion and being the iron that sharpens more iron. 🙂
I agree – we need to get the Good News out – and that does not mean putting a whole set of new ‘laws’ into place – the reason for Jesus’ coming was to fulfill the old testament law in order for us to have an inheritance that makes us not slaves to the old law but Children of God – benefits included! – That should surely be part of the Good News!
Agreed wholeheartedly! That’s why I don’t think there’s any sort of formula for getting the Good News “out there” – God works through His Word where and how He wills, even through plumbers and us lowly church musicians. 🙂 For me, the point is to serve in our various roles with in joyful response to the Gospel, and then use the opportunities to speak as God gives them to us.
Haha! This is amazing!
sorry for the intrusive size of the video…
That’s a fine of $100, sir 😉
🙂
Funny-my husband and boys ran over to watch this one. Our church played a version of this in service recently, fairly uncomfortable, and good the point was made.
Yes it is to glorify God…the cheif end of man is to glorify God forever…
Like you said…the music and lyrics have to REFLECT the gospel…
The book of Esther does not mention any name for God…but it bleeds the story of the Gospel…
Andrew Osenga is awesome at this…
so is Derek Webb…
Reflect the Gospel. Love that.
I agree that the glory of God should be our goal! Of Course!
I think about stuff like……If Jesus was a musician, what would be the words to His songs?
If God is not being glorified, then who is?
What are we doing what we do?
Great questions. What would you answer to that first one?
Depends on who He is speaking to: The woman at the well or the Pharisees!
I think all His songs would be about 1 The Father, 2 How much God loves us 3 The Holy Ghost!
I am excited for this series David. I think this is a great topic to talk on and something I touch on in my upcoming book. Being a touring musician for 4 years in the “secular” music scene I have heard all kinds of thoughts on this topic and I’m excited to engage with you as you write this series!
Sounds like this is right up your alley, Michael. When is the book released?
I’m hoping for sometime in May. It’s a book about growing up in church and being around this counterfeit faith and how that has affected my genuine faith now as a guy in my 20’s. But when I decided to go on tour and not put the christian label on my band a lot of people in the church I grew up in kinda disowned me.
Wow. Sounds like an interesting story, man. Looking forward to this.
If you should get into the ‘to the Glory of God’ thing, we need to understand a few principles, and yes it has been said in the comments here (and you may add a lot of things here still):
1. Our lives should reflect who and what we believe in – meaning that there should be a difference between what we say and how we say it – that comes down to ‘attitude’
2. Our actions should speak loader than words – speaking the truth, living honestly, sharing God’s love (Sometimes without speaking His name), etc.
3. Praising God in all things – Not always audible, but definitely sometimes (at least)
4. Grabbing every opportunity to share the Gospel
5. Grace to all – whether by means of sharing the Gospel or just giving it to others because you received it freely.
6. Loving and taking care of your own family, being the priest of the house (if you are the husband) and letting the husband be the priest (if you are a woman)
I believe that we can glorify God in many ways – but we need to be true to ourselves and to Him.
Gert, you’re a rockstar! Love how you tied in “family”. It’s easy to forget about that, but so important.
I really like the discussion on this page. Ever since I was saved my whole outlook towards life has changed(I wouldn’t go looking for “christian artists glorifying God” in google). I also want to thank the author for writing this blog.
One of my favorite artists is Keith Green. I like almost all his songs but the best i like are “Make my life a prayer to you” and “There is a Redeemer”
Love me some Keith Green!
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