Kutless = Satan's Poster Boys?

Last Friday, I abstained from more normal routine of "Trailheading" it down south (I know that that was incredibly lame of me to say and I can't believe I said it either. I can't believe that I'm not removing it from my blog right now but I guess I'm just stubborn) and instead put that off for a day and went to a concert in Charleston that I was pretty amped to see. It was the Creation Festival Tour and they had a lot (I mean, a lot) of great bands playing and for $20 you couldn't beat that with a stick! It was headlined by Kutless and even though I don't really care for Kutless, I still found it worth checking out all the groups playing that night. So as soon as I got off work, I picked up a bunch of youth from my church and drove to the Municipal. I had to pick up the tickets at will-call (great seats by the way) and on my way there, who did I see? Oh these guys:

I didn't make this video but I appreciate whoever did for putting it on YouTube. So of course, the many teenagers that were coming to see a plethora of their favorite Christian artists were met by some angry protesters that were infuriated by that "devil rock and roll" music that those kids listen to and found that it was their duty to save their souls by holding up large signs explaining God's judgment and passing out anti-Kutless literature.

Now I'm personally not a huge Kutless fan but wouldn't go to the extent to say that their music will send your soul to hell. I just simply choose to not listen to them. Not because of moral reasons but because of musical preference reasons. Their music is pretty Christ-centered and so was every other artist performing that night, not to mention that the founder of the Creation Festival spoke about winning others for Christ and then two people came forward to receive Jesus in their lives. So what is it about these groups that are so evil? I didn't accept their literature and I'm kind of regretting it right now just so I can see their reasoning because they sure weren't listening to anyone else's (even the lead singer of Kutless that came out to speak with them). It must just be that evil rock music. I mean let's face it, no one has been able to reach this generation musically and get a party going like these guys:

Be sure to check out their new CD, "Chanting With My Homies," which drops early 2009. But anyway, why is it that so many Christians are absolutely terrified of culture? Honestly, why is it we're afraid of taking something used to entertain and taking it and using it for a greater purpose? Why is it so evil to engage and even attempt to set the standards of culture to reach others? It's not compromise. There's nothing in the Bible that says that Christians using different forms of music or entertainment is wrong. In fact, Paul encourages Christians to become like others (without compromising their morality) to reach others (1 Cor. 9:19-21) and the last time I checked, the Bible doesn't declare any type of music immoral.

So I wonder how many people those guys converted and won for Christ. I wonder how many teenagers went home and threw away their Pillar CD's and tore down their KJ-52 poster and replaced it with a poster of the Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir. I wonder how many lives were changed that night because they saw that listening to Christian rock music would send them to hell.

If we allow ourselves to become culturally irrelevant, then we allow our message to appear irrelevant as well. We should be like Paul and become like those we are trying to reach (again, without compromising our morality or putting ourselves in compromising situations. Don't try to reach crackheads by smoking crack.) We need to be taking care of our message of the gospel and making sure it's put in the most appealing of packages and put it in a form where it will be able to reach others. We need to be making those bridges (through inspiration and wisdom from God) from the gospel to the person.

For instance, I don't get why people are so hung up on only using King James in church. The King James Bible was released in 1611. Do you know who the audience was that the KJV was directed to? People that lived in England in 1611! No one talks like they did in 1611 now. Do you know how many more advancements we've made in translating since then? I mean, would you want only medical advice from 1611? Think about it. KJV is great and played a big role in English-speaking Christianity but there are other translations that are far more accurate and contain speech very similar to how we talk like oh, I don't know.......NOW! Again, there's nothing wrong with going with King Jimmy. If that's your preference and you feel you get the most out of it, you go for it, but why do so many put God in a box and make it so that He has to speak to us like in a manner more suited for Henry VIII?
I don't understand why some Christian television programs try to use methods that may have been appealing back in 1994 to reach young people in 2008.
I don't understand why many Christian radio stations somehow think that the only music that will attract and appeal to others searching for more is that of Rich Mullins and Amy Grant from 20+ years ago (I mean, we all knew "Baby, Baby" was going to be what sparked a national revival).
I don't get why so many churches are terrified to talk about controversial issues, yet complain about how so many people live with these issues.

I mean, God bless people for their good intentions but it's time to grab hold of this culture that is using itself to tear down people and use it to make a bridge between them and salvation. God's word is always relative and never changing, but the delivery needs to adjust with time in order to reach the culture that is adjusting along with the time. If we don't, then we limit who we're trying to reach to........well, no one.

I'm making this my prayer: "God, as a minister of your gospel, don't allow me to become irrelevant."