Different Is Good

A month ago, as we were traveling for a basketball tournament, I discovered a radio station in the Toledo area.   It’s a Christian station that plays  a lot of the Christian alternative music that I enjoy.    Red, Skillet, Toby Mac, Lecrae, Family Force 5, Hawk Nelson, Capital Kings, and Owl City are in regular rotation on this station.  They also play a number of different shows that are informative.  The best part for me is that I can stream it online. 

Now this station may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but I am really enjoying it right now.  I often listen to 97.7 out of Castalia, 95.5 The Fish from Cleveland, and the national Air1 streams.  But having more variety in my listening is making me happy.  Depending on my mood comma  I now have even more options for good, quality Christian music to listen to during my days. 

As I stress over and over again, it’s all about putting God first.  Part of that for me is putting God in my mind first and foremost, and I do that by listening to quality radio stations that remind me all day long of His love for me.  Maybe this station isn’t the one for you, but then again maybe it is.  Check it out if it may be:

http://www.yeshome.com

Nick Hall's Winter Jam Message

This past Friday marked the return of the Winter Jam tour to the Wolstein Center in Cleveland.  This is a yearly concert that travels starting in January and goes through March, doing concerts every Thursday through Sunday all over the country.  The cost is $10 per person, paid at the door, and all seats are first come, first served.  There are usually around 10 performers/groups slated at each location and the audience is given 5-5 ½ hours of entertainment during the evening. 

This has become a yearly outing for my family, this year including my six-year-old daughter as well.  It’s not very often that you can get that much value for the price.  Our family loves the music and really enjoys the variety of artists that are included, which often allows us to see acts that we’ve never seen before.

Every year one of the added elements is a special guest speaker who talks during some of the stage changeovers. This year Nick Hall was the speaker, and he made a huge point.  So, instead of repeating all that he said, I thought I’d suggest you go to this video and watch it yourself on YouTube.  I really think it’s worth watching, even if you have been to Winter Jam this year and heard the message.  This really does affect all of us, and it can be applied to all of our lives.

I hope you enjoy the message and learn from it just as I did at the concert (10 minutes – and the video is NOT from the Cleveland show, but it’s one of the best sound and video wise I could find on YouTube.):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=26UXt_Pu9Rs

Parody

Ok, I have to be honest here…I have always been a big fan of Weird Al Yankovic.  I have always enjoyed his songs and his strange way of looking at life.  I even enjoyed his movie UHF. 

The reason I mention Weird Al today is because I have always thought that Christian music needed a “Weird Al” like person making parodies of popular songs and turning them into Christian songs.  You could really have a lot of fun with it if you ask me, and frankly this might be a great youth group event idea.  (Attention Michael Bochman!)  You could do something like the following:

Popular Song                             Made into this Christian song

“Girl on Fire” by Alicia Keys = “Christian on Fire”

“Locked out of Heaven” by Bruno Mars = “Enter the Gates of Heaven”

“Daylight” by Maroon 5 = “Your Light”

“Don’t Stop the Party” by Pitbull = “You are the Party”

And I think you get the idea. 

Now why would someone want to do this?  I am a firm believer that you have to reach people where they are in their lives.  In this instance we’re talking about music, and these are popular songs that people are listening to every day.  What if they heard a familiar beat, and before they knew it the message had changed?  Now they are hearing God’s word instead of the normal song, and they didn't turn it off.  Now a door is opened for that person to really hear the gospel.

I’m not saying that we’re all going to be able to do this, but today I am advocating that we go reach people where they are in their lives .  The day of just inviting everyone you know to church and expecting the church to do the evangelism is over.  I’m not saying that the church can’t help with that process, but frankly I think God wants us all more involved than that.  He wants us to invite everyone we see to be a part of our life.  If they become a part of our life then they’ll see what God is doing and become curious.  If they want to learn more then you can invite them to church and really show them what God wants to do in their lives. 

So, you may not be able to make parody music but you can still reach people for God.  You just have to be willing to let people see Him in you.