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Music Evangelism

The following website contains an excellent article by Keith Green on this same subject.

Christianity is experiencing a modern phenomenon known as "Music evangelism". This is the idea that the great commission should be carried out through the medium of music. As a Christian musician who has participated in Music Evangelism, I would like to use this forum to share some of my thoughts.

Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:  Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, [even] unto the end of the world. Amen. - Matthew 28:19-20

Jesus gave each Christian what is known as "the great commission", which dictates that every believer should go forth and spread the Gospel to "every nation". This is commonly known as evangelism or proselytizing.

In modern times, with industrialized nations having enough leisure time to allow them to enjoy entertainment in the forms of music, movies, t.v., internet, etc.,  it has only made sense for Christians to utilize these forms as a means for spreading the Gospel.

Why not use entertainment media to spread the Gospel? After all, such media can reach so many people!  The hit t.v. series "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire" drew in an estimated 21.8 million viewers in one night on February of 2000. The 42nd Annual Grammy Awards, broadcast on a competing station on the same day, and in a rare occurrence, outperformed "Millionaire" drawing close to 28 million viewers. The television broadcast of Superbowl XXXIV was estimated to have drawn 1.5 million viewers in Ontario, Canada alone!

There's no understimating the impact of entertainment upon the world. But there's a danger that the entertainment can supersede the message. Akin to the Heisenburg uncertainty principle of quantum mechanics, the very presence of a t.v. camera changes the very behavior of the people being presented. The danger is that, in order to maintain viewer ratings, entertainment evangelists may have to "water down" the message to keep people watching or listening. When a television camera is present, all the sudden people become even more sensitive to aesthetic's and pageantry, expending enormous amounts of energy to ensure that every hair is in place, and every light is casting the right shadow.

As a Christian musician, I see this especially true in music. I do believe that Jesus' common fishing analogies do well to serve us in determining the best approach to evangelism. In order to catch the right fish, you have to use attractive bait. With this in mind, of course using entertainment media is legitimate. I do not mean to imply that evangelism can't be entertaining or fun. But just as the sting of the hook should never be obscrured by the choice of bait, so the Gospel should never be stifled by ratings grabs or chart sales.

But the greatest limitation of any form of entertainment evangelism is the very medium limiting the message. Speaking specifically in regards to music evangelism, no song can adaquately present an apologetical message aimed at disarming an atheist or agnostic's doubts. The limits of music lyrics do not facilitate words like "ontology", "epistomology" and "hermeneutics". What word  rhymes with "empricism"? The commercial limitations which impose time restrictions of 3 to 5 minute length songs, do not foster an in depth defense of the validity and veracity of the Bible as the final authority for man. This is the crux of my argument. Music can be a powerful evangelical tool, but only at a shallow intellectual level. Music is better equipped at reaching the depths of emotion than thought. In this regard, music evangelism is powerful, but limited. Evangelism should reach the heart but it shouldn't stop until it has penetrated the mind.

"Music is the number one communicator of values in our society. It bypasses the intellect and goes straight to the heart." - Rick Warren

A second great limitation of music is the fact that words (especially in the form of  lyrics) and a great beat to tap to aren't always enough. I sometimes get the impression that music evangelists (I consider myself one) think that all a lost soul needs is to hear one of their songs and they will "find Jesus". Don't get me wrong, there are many people who will confess to have accepted Jesus Christ at a Christian music concert or while listening to a particular Christian song that hit them where they were. But many times people have deeper impediments which keep them from the cross. Obstacles like a refusal to give up sin and submit to a Holy God. For many unsaved, the witness that is needed is simply for a Christian to form a relationship with them and consistently live out the life of Christ before them. One necessary ingredient to evangelism is for Christians to care. This is impossible for an artist to do from a musical stage. An artist's love for their fans can only be expressed at a rudimentary level.

For the person who does come to salvation as a result of musical evangelism or some other form of entertainment evangelism, there is a danger that the convert, being presented a Gospel in such a limited form, might not have an adaquate understanding of their commitment. Notice that I didn't say comprehensive. No Christian has such an understanding. This is why discipleship is especially important for the entertainment evangelist. Otherwise, it is easy for a person to stand up at a Christian rock concert, go forward to "receive Christ", sign a card, and then walk away with an unchanged life, never having really come to the saving knowledge of the Gospel. One can see how a Christian musical evangelist could unintentionally overestimate the effectiveness of his/her ministry by counting the number of people who walked an aisle. What's worse is that there are some musical evangelists who bloat their numbers intentionally.

One final caveat is that many Christian musicians are pushed into musical evangelism by a sort of peer pressure. When I've told my fellow brothers and sisters in Christ that I'm a musician, some of them seem to assume that I have a "call " to "the ministry" (see footnote *). Of course all Christians are called to witness the Gospel, but just as a Christian doctor is not required to practice at a Christian hospital for his profession to be considered legitimate in the eyes of the church, (or more importantly to God) so a Christian musician shouldn't be required to play only Christian music or only play at Christian venues to be accepted by other Christians.

I fall into this category. I consider myself a Christian who happens to be a musician. I witness whenever God gives me the opportunity but I'm not called to be an evangelist. If my primary goal was to see souls saved, I'd become a missionary. Missionaries, in my opinion, are more effective at reaching the lost than Christians who are in music evangelism or even pastors for that matter. I see these Christian bands that make statements like, "Our primary goal is to reach and save the lost" and I think, if that's your primary goal, then get out of music. I'm sure that many of these bands are well-intentioned. I used to share these views. Some of these bands know better and use evangelism as a front so that they can do what they love, which might be to play music or simply be a "star".

It is this approach, when put into practice, that might give people the wrong impression, especially when watching my band the Collaboration Element, that I don't want to witness for the cause of Christ. So let me make myself perfectly clear. I want to see souls saved and look for witnessing opportunities as a musician. But I do it in the same sense that an owner of a construction company looks for clients or an insurance salesman looks for potential customers. I believe that as I go about being who God has made me (He has definitely made me a musician), that He will put people in my path. Every Christian is called to evangelism no matter what his vocation. Our lives as Christians are the missionary fields.

FOOTNOTE

*"Music ministry" is an umbrella term that would include evangelism but is not limited to it. It also includes ministering to fellow Christians. I do believe that all Christian musicians (I'm not talking about Christians who occassionally play an instrument as a hobby) are gifted and required by God to use their gift for ministry. This might mean playing in the church band/orchestra during praise and worship, playing specials or simply giving lessons to other Christians.