I have long felt nauseated by Christian radio. Not 100% of the time, but it just seems like there is too much on there that is superficial. When I think about it and even more when I comment to someone about my views, I wonder if I am perceived as jaded or something because it does not seem acceptable to criticize fellow Christians. Yet, when I hear the radio people read some inspiring verse and talk briefly about it as if we should all be deeply encouraged by it, I just cringe. Not that I have an issue with reading scriptures on the air. It’s just the way it’s done… cherry picking a verse and using it like it comes from God’s book of encouragements – sort of like chicken soup for the soul, its supposed to make us feel good. Reading my Bible makes me uncomfortable and it should because it challenges me to do something or to think differently. Then the music played is all “safe” in the sense that it musically fits in with whatever the current style of music is. Nothing innovative or creative there musically. Lyrically there is so much tripe… shallow theology and sometimes really bad theology. Now, here is the real rub… I am persuaded to some extent that youth ministry of recent decades and the general direction of the church in America is what has produced the hunger for this stuff. That makes my professions somewhat responsible for the existence of such radio.
Okay, so I am glad that Matt Papa has decided to blog about this subject and he is an insider in the industry. He is doing a several part series to challenge and point out the issues he has with Christian radio. I don’t know anything about this guy, but I recognized his name as a Christian musician. His first post has several points made well that I appreciated. Have a look here.
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