Supporting Ministries - Christian Bands

Those 2 words - "Christian Band" seem to spark different mental images for different people. For me it is a refreshing sound to my ears, that Christians would form a band with the sole purpose of making music that glorifies God.

There are some other reactions as well, and I am also guilty of having mixed feelings when I hear those 2 words used together. I guess you could label me as bi-polar when it comes to Christian Bands, but more broadly Contemporary Christian Music as a whole. If you have read any of my other posts then you probably know that music is a topic that I discuss frequently. I've realized why lately as I have made posts on Facebook with the heading "Be careful what you consume" for the posts.

The mentality behind being careful what we consume sprung forth over 5 years ago as I wrote about it in this posting - The Purity Of What We Consume. Over the past 5 years God has matured this thought path in me and usually my examples show up frequently when I have conversations with other people. The path started at my conversion, which is when God took all of the secular music from me, quite miraculously. I loved the music of the world, I always had, especially after being introduced to my particularly favorite flavor/ style at church camp, of all places. The genre had bands like Iron Maiden, Black Sabbath, Dio, Def Leppard, Motley Crue and a whole plethora of other bands ranging from hair bands to grunge to the predecessors of death metal. I also delved into the early hardcore rap with NWA, Ice T and others. I also saw nothing wrong with this music, even though I professed to be a Christian since I was 8 years old and made excuses that I "just listened to the music" and that "the lyrics have no affect on me". Wrong on both accounts.

When I was first truly converted God replaced my love for the world's music with a desire for God centered music. I started gobbling up anything that had the label of "Christian" on it. Not too long afterwards God began working on me once again. He started opening up the "Christian bands" music and I saw that most had the same lyrics, the same focus as the world's music. So, once again I began to shed artists that were not truly glorifying God. I will not list the bands and artists in this post, but feel free to search through my blog as I'm sure you will run across several posts that address the topic.

Music affects us and we usually don't even realize it. Just take a day and listen to the soundtrack of that day. Pay attention to the places you go and the music that is being played. Listen carefully to the soundtrack in the TV programs and movies that you watch. Music is used everywhere to illicit emotions from cheerful in a grocery store to a pounding score in an action movie that quickens your pulse rate. Music does affect you more than you probably realize. Likewise a hymn or contemporary Christian song can increase focus on God too. Music is a great gift from God to us and He really desires us to glorify Him through it. We are even commanded to sing praise TO THE LORD (Psalm 30:4). As a matter of fact - What are psalms? They are songs.

God has developed a desire in me that the music I listen to praise and honor Him. I still like the crunching, distortion laden guitars and pounding bass drums, but I also love the smooth sounds of Southern Gospel. I have a varied taste in music, but the one constant is that "It must glorify God". But it goes beyond the veneer, because the bands have an agenda too and some in CCM have an agenda contrary to pointing to God, even though they may mention His Name every now and then. I heavily suggest checking out the theology behind the artists you listen to. As we have learned recently with the Gungor flap, which I wrote about yeaterday, not everyone believes the orthodox view of Scripture or of Christ, for that matter (ie Philips, Craig and Dean). So be very careful and be very diligent to test your music choices to the Bible (1 Thessalonians 5:21).

I have said all of this to point you, whoever God brings to this post and who is still reading, to point you to one of the most Biblical and God honoring bands that I know of - Attalus. I was first introduced to Attalus by a simple post from Matt Papa , another Godly focused Christian artist. Papa just linked to Attalus' video for "Broken Cisterns" and I was instantly hooked and quickly snatched up all of the musical offerings that I could find from this band. Attalus grew to be my favorite band very quickly. I played their songs constantly and I sang praises to the Lord using the soundtrack that God had graced me with.

I have prayed for these brothers, I have supported these brothers in anyway that I have been able to. The brothers that make up this band seek to glorify God through their music, which is how it should be, but sadly not how it always is. I ask that you, also, lend your support to this God honoring band as they are still in the production process of releasing a new CD, "Into The Sea".

You can become a partner with them in their ministry by taking advantage of the several "perks" at Indiegogo ranging from digital downloads to custom built guitar pedals to participating in "gang vocals" for the new CD. If the genre or style of their music doesn't suit your personal tastes you can still simply make a donation as well. Most of all pray for these brothers through this process. Making a CD and having shows is very labor intensive. They need God to sustain them and keep them focused on Christ and His glory.

So please partner with Attalus from this point forward. Listen to their music. Sing praises t God while listening to their music. Contact them and let them know that you are praying for them. Choose a perk at Indiegogo and get the remainder of the process funded for the CD. Be the Body and support the Body, in whatever way God leads you.

Of Gungor And Scripture And Discernment And...

I am perplexed. Baffled. Puzzled. Bewildered. Confounded. Utterly confused. I can’t seem to figure something out that is taking place in perceived Christianity.

I have been a champion for always being wary of what you are consuming, especially when it comes to the entertainment that you allow to enter your mind and affect you to the core. (See Here, Here, Here, Here, Here, Here and here. I have been aware of the namesake for the band Gungor’s recent remarks about his views against Biblical accuracy. I did not, however, look into exactly what his remarks were until today.

I first starting reading an article about Ken Ham, of Answers in Genesis and the Creation Museum, which he was addressing Gungor’s stance against Biblical accounts of creation and publicly calling Gungor to repent. I stopped reading shortly into the article because I wanted to read Michael Gungor’s actual words first, without having an opinion formed about what Gungor said, without reading what Gungor said. (Here is a post directly from Ken Ham)

Having never listened to Gungor, the only opinion I had formed about Gungor was based on people expressing how “great” the music was that the band had been producing. I have never heard a Gungor song, I have never heard Gungor talk even. I had a fresh slate, no kind of preconceived notions of what this man believes. As I read Michael Gungor’s words I began getting the feeling that the term “fundamentalist” was being used derogatorily and that Mr. Gungor harbored some animosity for those that might actually believe what the Bible says.

Gungor’s arguments seemed to match up with the world outside of perceived Christianity. From belittling those that believe the Biblical accounts of creation and Adam and Eve to be factual to likening the Bible’s account of Noah and the ark to an episode of Star Trek I was seeing that Gungor has been heavily influenced by this world’s lack of understanding of Scripture. (Original Gungor post - Followup post)

I will stop short of calling Michael Gungor a non-Christian, but I think that may be a real likely thing. Why is that? Can’t someone believe science trumps scripture and still be a Christian? Sure they can. How is that? Because there are a lot of Baby Christians out there who do not have the proper understanding of scripture and do not understand the Bible’s true nature. It is The Word of God. Period. The Bible is not simply a narrative of events, a collection of nifty stories or an outdated list of rules as Gungor and others would try to persuade. It is a reflection of the Nature of God. And with that statement I end up firmly on Gungor’s naughty list of Biblical Fundies.

I am praying that the Gungors take Ken Ham up on his invitation to visit the Creation Museum and to learn what the Biblical narrative really is. The scientists at the Creation Museum have volunteered to meet with the Gungors and show them how a ship could fit all of the animals that scripture says it did. They will be able to see where the water came from, the paths that it carved as it receded, the fossil beds that its aftermath left. If Michael Gungor visits the museum and is a Christian he certainly must change his understanding of what the Bible says and change his perceptions of Scripture as true and stop ridiculing those that actually believe what the Bible says.

Saying all of this I come to the real point of this post, the reason I am confused. Many a true believer have held the wrong understanding of the Biblical accounts as Michael Gungor holds. I would even venture to say that there are probably other mainstream CCM musicians that hold the same beliefs. What I find perplexing is the castigation of Gungor in light of this, the night and day perception of Gungor without actually trying to have a straight forward and heart to heart discussion with and to Michael Gungor. Michael Gungor has been accursed by a lot of people for his views and his words (rightfully so?). So why is that perplexing to me? Because other musical groups that blatantly and obviously believe and teach heretical doctrine are openly welcomed in Christian circles.

It is a sad state that a wrong view of the Bible, maybe caused by a lack of study or discipleship, sets someone outside the camp with folks washing their hands clean of Gungor while groups like Philips, Craig and Dean are defended, praised and lifted up as “brothers” when their view of God is blatantly heretical. PC&D not only believe heresy they also teach the heresy of Modalism with a kicker of a Prosperity gospel in the “churches” that they “pastor”.

Discernment is a rare commodity these days. False teachers/ prophets abound in our world today, smiling and telling you that your best life is now, that you can speak things into existence. False religions are being held as acceptable simply because the popular adherents hold the same political views as most Conservative Christians do (Glenn Beck, Mitt Romney). The ones that must be named get a free pass, while Gungor gets tied to the stake in mainstream circles. Rather ironic, I must say.

So, what to do? My suggestion is to see how Michael Gungor reacts to Ken Ham’s invitation. No preconceived narratives from me on what “might” happen or what Mr. Gungor “might” say or do with the invitation. I am fairly confident though, that if Michael Gungor accepts the invitation, sees the Christian view of Creation, with the scientific backing of Christian scientists, with PHDs, that he will change his view of Scripture and become a radical fundie, just like me.

What this boils down to, in my view, is that people are too heavily influenced by the musicians they like. Entertainment, music, musicians, movies, etc. are all chosen with what the flesh seems to enjoy. That is an alright thing, but that definitely doesn't trump Biblical accuracy and doing a little research into a band that catches your ear. We are to test all things (1 Thessalonians 5:21) and I am really certain that music, which impacts your mind and spirit, must be investigated before "liking" it and adding it to your MP3 player. Christians must be diligent to always look beyond what their foot taps to and see what theology has laid the foundation for what you are consuming. If you know a band or singer has some questionable theology then you would be wise to avoid them at all costs. If the TV preacher teaches contrary to scripture then you must mark them as anathema and avoid them, not "chew up the meat and spit out the bones". 

Discernment is lacking greatly in all areas of Christianity. How is that remedied? By knowing what the Bible says, by studying scripture, by taking God at His Word and applying it to your life and letting it shape you (Romans 12:2, Philippians 2:5). Simply follow Christ and God's Word. Let God be your guide and not what is popular in the world or within Christian circles.