03/26/2007
American Idol…hello? Sometimes you CAN tell a book by its cover…
Boy howdy I hate to open up this stinkin’ can-o-worms (i.e., CCM) again…but sometimes I think SOMEBODY (even if it’s someone as out of touch as myself) has to call a spade a spade…
Some of you may be familiar with one of my previous commentaries posted on Christianity Today under the title “Have Crossover Artists Sold Out?”. If so, then you can probably guess what my perspective on this topic will be.
I met Chris Sligh about 4 years ago. He was playing at a local coffee shop (just him and his acoustic guitar) and I was blown away by his talent. I talked to him after his performance and bought his CD (which I and my family enjoy listening to even to this day). I told him that I had a friend who was a Producer in CCM and had some clout and that I would contact him and see if he could help him out. Nothing ever came of it (and I wonder if my friend might feel differently now) but I liked Chris Sligh. I liked his music, his personality, and his music had a real honest and self-effacing quality to it while still maintaining biblical integrity. Not only did he have a unique voice but he was also an exceptional songwriter and arranger as well. His arrangement of the 23rd Psalm particularly ministered to me (listen to a sample here).
I don’t know what happened over the next few years to Chris, but not too long afterwards I visited his website to discover that his band had broken up. I was truly saddened and that was the last I heard about him until about a month ago. As you might imagine, I don’t watch American Idol, but I was watching the news and they were talking about the show and they flashed up a familiar face. I remember thinking, “Man, that guy looks like Chris Sligh.” I went to the show’s website and lo and behold there he was!
I wasn’t sure what to feel…I was glad to see that he was still around and, like most people would, I was glad that someone whose talent I admired and who I felt wasn’t fully appreciated was getting some recognition. But I was also saddened that there appeared to be another casualty in the fall of CCM.
For those of you who don’t know, I and a handful of others feel that CCM has lost its way and become just another genre indistinguishable from any other secular niche. Driven by our conflicting desires to receive the respect of our Christian peers, the blessings of God, money and fame, and the acclaim of the world we have so compromised the Gospel of Jesus Christ until there is no appreciable difference between ourselves and the world we claim we want to save. Of course, there are religious values often espoused (usually in a “God is my girlfriend” sort of way – if I may borrow from Steve Camp) but nothing that would cause the world to be offended in anyway (i.e., negatively affect sales). The world has no problem with religion. But it will never tolerate a life uncompromisingly surrendered to Jesus Christ. I think Keith Green’s “So You Wanna Be A Rock Star?” should be required reading for any Christian considering a career in popular music.
But what else should we expect of our popular culture when Christianity in general (especially here in the USA) has so watered down the gospel that most people who claim the faith haven’t the slightest clue what its central tenets are? We’ve replaced knowing and obeying the Word of God with following our own feelings and desires and called it “being led of the Spirit.” But I digress…
I no longer fight the battle for the soul of CCM. That war is over and those who so desperately strove to make it just like the secular music industry have gotten their wish. There is a faithful remnant who have not compromised in the name of “reaching more people” (with what I have no idea) and I pray that someday, if the Lord tarries, we might repent of our arrogance.
But I just couldn’t keep quiet when I saw that the subject of American Idol and Chris Sligh had come to the forefront. I like Chris and I consider him to be a brother in Christ. I don’t know what forces drove him to seek out the fame and fortune offered by the show. Many Christian musicians over the years have been slowly seduced by well-meaning people telling them how great they are and how they deserve better. Sometimes it’s the fans, sometimes a girlfriend or a wife, sometimes it’s simply falling prey to your own pragmatic marketing…compromise happens a little at a time and the Deceiver always whispers reasonable rationalizations along with it that fit so well with our fleshly desires. But I sincerely pray that Chris isn’t destroyed by this misguided dream and that he will repent before he gets completely dazzled by the lights and can’t find his way home.
In retrospect, I can see that Chris was struggling with the whole “fame and fortune” thing back when I met him. There was a song off his “Someone Just Like You” CD (listen to a sample here) whose lyrics went.
“I just want to be famous. I want you to know my name. I want everyone to know who I am.”
However, at that point in his Christian walk, he understood the solution to those desires. The last verse and chorus went:
“I’ve come of age I’m here on stage with a guitar in my hand. I’ve got the skills and the heart and the will but now I understand. Life ain’t all about the fame or people knowing your face. It’s about Christ and giving our lives and now I’ve finally found my place.
I don’t want to be famous. I don’t care if you know my name. I don’t care if everyone knows who I am. Cause I don’t want to be famous I want my name in small fine print cause all I have is heaven sent. I just want everyone to know who Jesus is.”
Chris, my brother, remember…
Revelation 2:5 "Therefore remember from where you have fallen, and repent and do the deeds you did at first; or else I am coming to you and will remove your lampstand out of its place--unless you repent.”
