Arts and Christianity: or Why Does Christian Art Stink

Today, directly following getting my haircut-renovation, I got into a conversation with my friend Brian which has stimulated my brain. I will now think on paper, well, virtual paper, anyway.

The topic was Christian music, kinda. I try hard to not be critical in general, since that's not love... plus, there are real PEOPLE behind the music I would like to mock. So, it's not so much why does Christian music stink that I am asking, and Brian is asking, but more why does Christian music not touch our hearts? Where is the passion, the emotion, the heartbreak?

I've never really listened to "secular" music. First, because that was the rules and then later, because I didn't like what the worldviews were behind it, or what it fed in me, or what it said. For some people, that is ridiculous, and they think it's a legalistic or "religious" stance. It's not. I'm not telling you what to do, I'm telling you what I want to do.

And the dividing line between secular and Christian is confusing, anyway, because the Christian music industry is a business, and business exists largely to create wealth. So there are people out there making music who love Jesus and love ministry and also happen to make a living making music. Fine, good. I'm not naive enough to believe that there is no one in it to make money, with or without Jesus. It's come down to a discernment thing with me now, and that's highly subjective.

Anyway, I digress somewhat. What I am thinking about, and pondering on, is our heart. Is it possible that we have primarily embraced a set of rules, and missed this wild romance that should totally overwhelm us and make us passionate and creative and amazing? And if we figured it out and painted and danced and wrote and sang from burning hearts, that we would make art worth having?

So how do we divorce ourselves from the profession and learn the pursuit? How do we free ourselves to love God wildly? Shoot. It's a good question.