When battling with this in my mind, these questions come up:Mountain Man wrote:As long as an altar call is followed up with solid, long-term discipleship with a seasoned Christian then I really don't have a problem. It's when people respond to an altar call and are sent away with a shallow "I've accepted Jesus. What now?" leaflet that things go awry.
1. Jesus, the church, the disciples, apostles used confrontational apologetic speech to reason with people.
2. Music was used for battle, to tell stories of victories in battle and deliverance from slavery, and praise to God. At some point during Isreals captivity, they had nothing to sing about, and did not for atleast a hundred years.
3. Music appeals to the senses first. We as humans are mostly likely to give in to our senses before reason. Carnal people are REALLY more likely.
4. Music concerts today are not what they were 10 and 20 years ago, let alone in bible times. If you watch any classic concerts on VHS from the 70s, 80s...people are comparitively reserved, the music was not as edgy as it is today...society was in a different place. Today, music is more urban, more agressive, more edgy.
5. I have a problem with concerts, even Petra's when mixed by Wayne Saboa. Unless you knew the words, some venues had poor acoustics, and Wayne's mix had John so far back, that there was no chance the message could be heard.
6. Then I go to the flip side, as in what I have personally seen. Kids saved. Who am I to say God cannot work at a show. It may be that the band is shallow in their faith, that the band parties after the show, that they suck even, but one song may hit home and encourage the kids to make a decision that they were already close to making.
7. You can't get apologetic reasoning into a song. Songs are based on the K.I.S.S. method. If people need real help, then they should be able to find a friend, find a church, find someone somewhere to help them. A band is not a branch of the church, is not governed by the church, is not held accountable by the church, is not long term like the church. The church is the hands, the feet, the eyes of Christ. WE are the church. WE should be the ministry. It is sad that the church has sucked so bad at it, and now rock bands are seen as a replacement. What a disservice to everyone invloved.
8. This is not to say bands should not live their Christian walk and lead people to Christ. But there is more to it than getting someone to say a prayer.
There's a balancing point between being honest and not totally trashing someone in the process that can be hard to find sometimes.
