branching out

[LadyKay]

2 hours ago, Behold said:

needs to at the same time maintain their witness and their holy lifestyle.

Why would they not be able to do this? There are Christian businessmen, Christian doctors and dentists.  I don't know people personally enough to name names. But just asking, why can you not maintain a witness and a holy lifestyle and still be a rock star?  (or country music star)

[The_Patriot21]

1 hour ago, Saved.One.by.Grace said:

I was a fan of Switchfoot (lead singer/writer Jon Foreman) long before I knew he was a Christian.  Switchfoot was definitely on both secular and Christian radio stations at the same time.  Dan Haseltine, lead singer of Jars of Clay was probably on both secular and Christian radio stations at the same time too.  Not so sure about Mark Hall of Casting Crowns and Jason Roy of Building 429 though.  I'm not fond of John Cooper's voice of Skillet but he could be the other one from your list.  I like Joseph Rojas voice better, lead singer of Seventh Day Slumber.  I like Red's first album better than the second (Michael Barnes lead singer), but that's just me.  I have a few CDs of all the folks mentioned.

 

you are right John Cooper-lead singer from skillet, is one of them, Skillet has had songs on both secular and christian charts, the other band that has hit both charts that I listed-was Switchfoot (Jon Foreman) Another band that I know has hit christian charts, not sure on secular, but I know many non saved that are familiar with the band (and heard their songs on the radio) is the band RED (Michael barnes) Joseph Rojas, is the lead singer for Seventh day slumber, another band that has crossed both christian and secular genres.

 

Mark Hall, from Casting Crowns, to my knowledge hasnt had anything on the secular charts. but my point is, all these musicians, went out into the world-and made a name for themselves, spreading Gods love. Some just to the christian era-others, such as been mentioned, jars of clay, has crossed both genres. My point is, if your church isnt welcoming your music-it doesnt mean you have to go off and just be a secular artist, you can still use your talents to further Gods kingdom. Everyone has different tastes.

 

And Behold, Im sorry if you thought I was being sarcastic-wasnt, was just trying to point out some talented musicions that are strong christians, and reach a lot of people. They maintain their witness-their lifestyle, while at the same time, do what they love. 

 

P.S. Im not sure if you know this or not, but just a friendly reminder, videos are not allowed outside of the video section of the forums which can be found here. https://www.worthychristianforums.com/forum/123-christian-music/ once they are posted and approved on there, you can link to your posts there in the threads here.

for example, heres a skillet song i posted some time ago, of one of my favorite songs by them 

 

[missmuffet]

If a person is truly and faithfully grounded in Jesus Christ they will use their God given talents in this world. Just because they were raised in the Church does not make them a Christian. I was not raised in the Church. God was never spoken in my home and we never went to Church.

[Behold]

1 hour ago, LadyKay said:

Why would they not be able to do this? There are Christian businessmen, Christian doctors and dentists.  I don't know people personally enough to name names. But just asking, why can you not maintain a witness and a holy lifestyle and still be a rock star?  (or country music star)

Yes.

And my point is, that if a person, a born again believer, wants to be on Pop FM, or make MTV Videos, and live this fame, then they need to be able to maintain a Christian witness and a holy lifestyle.

What ive noticed, is that once someone "goes secular" with their Christian music, you can forget songs about Jesus, or the Blood, or anything that is really obvious.., and the lyrics begin to be about, "the one who loves" and "how i have a friend" and this type of vague obtuse stuff...

So, all im saying is that if a person is Born Again, and wants to chase a different audience then the "church", then they need to make certain that their music does not degenerate into gospel mush that isn't clear or precise or obvious, regarding their Faith.

[missmuffet]

6 minutes ago, Behold said:

Yes.

And my point is, that if a person, a born again believer, wants to be on Pop FM, or make MTV Videos, and live this fame, then they need to be able to maintain a Christian witness and a holy lifestyle.

What ive noticed, is that once someone "goes secular" with their Christian music, you can forget songs about Jesus, or the Blood, or anything that is really obvious.., and the lyrics begin to be about, "the one who loves" and "how i have a friend" and this type of vague obtuse stuff...

So, all im saying is that if a person is Born Again, and wants to chase a different audience then the "church", then they need to make certain that their music does not degenerate into gospel mush that isn't clear or precise or obvious, regarding their Faith.

It seems like a person can easily become captivated with all this world has to offer when money, power and fame and fortune enters the door. When that happens a person really needs to stay close to God and not let Satan take hold.

[SavedOnebyGrace]

1 hour ago, The_Patriot2016 said:

 

you are right John Cooper-lead singer from skillet, is one of them, Skillet has had songs on both secular and christian charts, the other band that has hit both charts that I listed-was Switchfoot (Jon Foreman) Another band that I know has hit christian charts, not sure on secular, but I know many non saved that are familiar with the band (and heard their songs on the radio) is the band RED (Michael barnes) Joseph Rojas, is the lead singer for Seventh day slumber, another band that has crossed both christian and secular genres.

 

Mark Hall, from Casting Crowns, to my knowledge hasnt had anything on the secular charts. but my point is, all these musicians, went out into the world-and made a name for themselves, spreading Gods love. Some just to the christian era-others, such as been mentioned, jars of clay, has crossed both genres. My point is, if your church isnt welcoming your music-it doesnt mean you have to go off and just be a secular artist, you can still use your talents to further Gods kingdom. Everyone has different tastes.

As I said, I have CDs by all the groups you listed, including Skillet.  My musical tastes runs the gamut from Metal to Country, from Blues to Jazz, from Classical ... well you get the picture.   I agree, everyone has different musical tastes.

[The_Patriot21]

57 minutes ago, Saved.One.by.Grace said:

As I said, I have CDs by all the groups you listed, including Skillet.  My musical tastes runs the gamut from Metal to Country, from Blues to Jazz, from Classical ... well you get the picture.   I agree, everyone has different musical tastes.

Yes indeed they do. I'm not bashing anyone's taste of genre of choice. Skillet and Red are probably my two favorite bands...they don't come out with obvious "praise Jesus" but their lyrics have a deeper meaning, very Christian, and especially with red use a lot of symbolism. However, everyone has a different taste in music and different music speaks to people in different ways. Just because a song means something to me, doesn't mean it will for you, or vise versa. I was just listing the different artists to show a point. 

 

Music is a very powerful tool, one that can be used by the devil, and one that can be used for good. One must be careful that when they attack a certain song or a certain artist, that the reason for that attack is indeed biblical, and not personal taste. This is where a lot of people get ran out of a chue, when the church judges the person/music, not because it's "against the Bible" but because they personally don't like it, and they will use "its not christian" as an excuse.

 

As an example, I have heard many people attack bands like RED as not being christian. Use arguments like "if you can't understand the words it's not christian" and "they don't use the words " Christ " or "love" or anything like that in their music. Well, 2 points, just because you can't understand the words doesn't mean others can't. And 2, if you don't actually take time to dive into the meaning, then how can you say it's not christian? They have one song titled "already over" that deals with freedom from addiction, that really really, strikes home with me. It might not with you, but that's OK.

My point is, if there is a song or band that means something to someone, you should be careful when you attack it, and make sure your reasons are biblical. When you do, even if you don't, a person who's life has been touched by that song may take it personally, and you just hurt your witness over a song

Some music probably should be hit with the hammer, its not really Christ honoring. I'm not saying we shouldn't say anything, just that we use wisdom with what we say and when.

[SavedOnebyGrace]

23 minutes ago, The_Patriot2016 said:

Yes indeed they do. I'm not bashing anyone's taste of genre of choice. Skillet and Red are probably my two favorite bands...they don't come out with obvious "praise Jesus" but their lyrics have a deeper meaning, very Christian, and especially with red use a lot of symbolism. However, everyone has a different taste in music and different music speaks to people in different ways. Just because a song means something to me, doesn't mean it will for you, or vise versa. I was just listing the different artists to show a point. 

 

Music is a very powerful tool, one that can be used by the devil, and one that can be used for good. One must be careful that when they attack a certain song or a certain artist, that the reason for that attack is indeed biblical, and not personal taste. This is where a lot of people get ran out of a chue, when the church judges the person/music, not because it's "against the Bible" but because they personally don't like it, and they will use "its not christian" as an excuse.

 

As an example, I have heard many people attack bands like RED as not being christian. Use arguments like "if you can't understand the words it's not christian" and "they don't use the words " Christ " or "love" or anything like that in their music. Well, 2 points, just because you can't understand the words doesn't mean others can't. And 2, if you don't actually take time to dive into the meaning, then how can you say it's not christian? They have one song titled "already over" that deals with freedom from addiction, that really really, strikes home with me. It might not with you, but that's OK.

My point is, if there is a song or band that means something to someone, you should be careful when you attack it, and make sure your reasons are biblical. When you do, even if you don't, a person who's life has been touched by that song may take it personally, and you just hurt your witness over a song

Some music probably should be hit with the hammer, its not really Christ honoring. I'm not saying we shouldn't say anything, just that we use wisdom with what we say and when.

I actually like Red and have their first two CDs.  But I also like Day of Fire with the former lead singer for the band, Full Devil Jacket, Josh Brown.  That's about as heavy metal as I get.  But more than Red, Day of Fire and Skillet, I like Kutless.  I really can't get enough of them.