Victoria
ViCt0RiUHH@yahoo.com

These artists that are listed in your letter are ones that, while not blatantly presenters of Christian music, do present themselves in a wholesome way and don’t seem to hide their faith. I would much rather go to a Christian bookstore to buy a Jonas Brother’s CD for my kids than to walk through the CD section of my local Target.

I think that God created many humans to have the ability to create music, art, dance and many other creative forms. Why not celebrate what he has created? Is the bookstore blurring the lines? Maybe…..but on the other hand….they are honoring a wholesome industry (at least for the moment) that creates a wonderful option for us parents and our kids who enjoy pop music. The music is fun and happy and the artists do not back down when asked about their faith.

Just yesterday we watched Everlife sing an acapella hymn during their concert. There were about 8,000 screaming kids there and the singing of that hymn made a distinct statement to all who attended. I think this is especially crucial in that the Jonas Brothers are so popular right now that they will now head out on tour to open up for Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus. What an opportunity.

How great would it be if every night 8,000 kids were left with a clear impression that God is the center of these artists lives? I’m not saying that Miley Cyrus is a Christian (I don’t know either way) but the presence at her concerts of the Jonas Brother’s and the faith that they have is a major event. The tweens in our country can’t go anywhere near a blog or website about the Jonas Brothers before finding out that these three young men are sons of a Nazarene pastor, or that they attended a Christian high school, or that they gave their lives to Jesus. I think it’s incredible that these young believers are leaders of the tween pack that has taken the music industry by storm over the last couple of years. I would offer that this is a much better option than the Jonas Brother’s opening for Britney Spears.

Here’s something else to think about…..also in attendance at the concert yesterday was Kenny Ortega, the director of High School Musical. Why he was there I don’t know….but he was. I can only imagine what he learned yesterday about God. I think it would be sad if he learned that the Jonas Brothers were kicked out of Christian bookstores because the music in and of itself is not Christian. I wonder what sort of witness that gives to Kenny. I also wonder what would happen if a man of his talents were to be led to the Lord through young men like the Jonas Brothers. What kind of impact could he have?

In some ways, I think it’s important and valuable for the Jonas Brothers and other artists to normalize relationship with God. What I saw yesterday made God much more approachable and real. So much of what kids see are stereotypes of unbalanced or weird Christians. They need to see what a real Christian looks like and to learn that being a Christian is something that is normal and not weird. What does it say to non-Christians if we throw the products of our ‘own’ out the door?

Please know that in our home we also invest heavily in Christian artists such as Rebecca St. James and others. I’m not looking for a particular balance….I think that draws way too much attention to it. Why not just embrace that which is good and wholesome and make it part of normal, everyday lives?

There’s a greater argument also, in that some people tend to think that if a song doesn’t contain Christian lyrics that it’s ‘non-Christian’. I subscribe to the belief that God created music and he created holiness and he created wholesomeness. He also created love and fun and joy. If a Christian records a song about love….I don’t think that suddenly makes the song ‘non-Christian’. Could I suggest that maybe a song about love could be a song honoring God, even if it’s not sung by a Christian or does not contain particularly Christian lyrics? Is Monet’s Waterlillies a non-Christian painting but Michaelangelo’s Sisteen Chapel is? They are both beautiful creations made by a child of the creator. What if a Christian bookstore decided to sell greeting cards that had a picture of Monet’s Waterlillies on the front yet Christian words inside? Would that make the greeting cards inappropriate? What about Michaelangelo’s paintings that weren’t blatantly Christian? Should they be turned out?

On another note…we Christians come across to non-Christians as way too judge-mental. I guess I would rather hear a person like Kenny Ortega say to his friends over at Disney “Guess what the Christians did? They like these kids music so much they are selling it in their stores.” I would rather hear that instead of “Guess what the Christians did? They kicked the Jonas Brothers out of their store….there they go again.”

I can understand why seeing those items for sale would be a concern but I think the greater good outweighs the concern by a substantial margin. So, in answer to your question of “What are we teaching our children?” I think we’re teaching them about joy, fun, happiness and great wholesome music. I think we’re teaching them that it’s okay and ‘cool’ to be Christians and to be unashamed of our faith. I think we’re teaching them that God created music and joy and fun and that life is to be celebrated. I think we’re teaching them that God probably enjoys the song “Year 3000″ by the Jonas Brother’s as much as we do.