Yesterday, I posted an image of my Stuff Christians Like sarcasm card. (I've decided that "business card" sounds too formal.) Here's what one reader thought about it:
"You've really let us down, Jon. What's with Capt. Cartoon on your business card not sporting the unibrow? That's false, man, just false."
That comment cracked me up and I was honestly very happy that it was posted. I've been struggling with how to write about the concept of Christians "selling out." I thought about leading with a story about the band Evanescence. At one point, they were fairly big in the Christian music scene and had a member of the Christian band 12 Stones do a cameo on their most popular songs, "Bring me to life." Band member Ben Moody said, "We hope to express in our music that Christianity is not a rigid list of rules to follow."
But then, in April 2003 they asked Christian retail outlets to remove their music and Moody told Entertainment Weekly, "We're actually high on the Christian charts, and I'm like, What are we even doing there?" And lead singer Amy Lee responded to a Billboard magazine question about being a Christian band in 2006 by saying, "Can we please skip the Christian thing? I'm so over it. It's the lamest thing. I fought that from the beginning; I never wanted to be associated with it. It was a Ben thing. It's over."
I don't know Evanescence though. Maybe they just got a really bad spin from the media. That happens. Maybe the whole thing is completely different and they got a really bum deal. I don't know their story. I do know mine however, and mine involves a unibrow.
Because I have mentioned owning, or maybe "wearing" is the better word, a unibrow in a few posts, at least one reader was expecting to see it reflected on my sarcasm card. That's understandable. When he wrote that comment I started laughing because I realized I have to keep this unibrow. It's part of who I am. I might be speaking at a southern college this July and I envision the crowd rising against me if that classy caterpillar is not marching itself above my eyes.
The whole issue of Christians selling out is kind of interesting to me though. I honestly hope that you will help keep me humble and honest and true and if I ever try to sell you a book about a horse that learned to run from a goat that couldn't walk and a girl that couldn't dance titled "The Horse Dancerer" I hope you will slap me in the mouth. But what is weird about criticizing Christian musicians for selling out is that we don't do that in other areas of life.
For instance, I promise this conversation has never happened:
Bill: "Did I tell you about my friend Mike? The Christian plumber?"
Fred: "No, what happened?"
Bill: "He used to have these contracts with churches. He did all their plumbing. But now, he's expanding the business and working with secular companies and doing plumbing at the homes of non-Christians. He's such a sell out."
OK, I agree, a plumber is not in front of as many people as a successful musician. But what is the audience cut off number of when it comes to calling someone a sell out? If an executive is in front of 5,000 employees and works at a secular company, is he a sell out? Is a public speaker on time management a sell out if she speaks to 100,000 people a year and doesn't tell them about the Lord? What type of secular job is OK to have and what type makes you a sell out?
Is what Evanescence did cool? Debatable. Is calling a Christian a sell out cool? Maybe less debatable. Am I going to cast Jim Caviezel as the cowboy with a dark past by a good heart in the movie version of "The Horse Dancerer?" Without a doubt.
Amy Grant, Sixpence, Stryper, etc...
ReplyDeletebunch of sell outs. No really, I never thought that. I actually did think it was good that they went all "mainstream." I loved to hear Leigh Nash talk about CS Lewis' Mere Christianity on random TV shows. When people think it's somehow bad, I figure it's just another easy thing to judge. And maybe another thing that shouldn't get so much attention because it takes the focus off of things that really matter.
I also love it when I have conversations where I ask someone who they got to paint their house or build their deck and they say "so and so, he's a Christian." Oh. Okay, but can he paint?
Fixing pipes in churches would be a sweet gig if churches did not expect Christian plumbers to do it at a discount or for free as a "ministry unto the Lord." :-)
ReplyDeleteDo you think there may be a reason Jesus was a CARPENTER by trade -- did he ask before he built a table or a chair or a house for anyone if they followed the LAW -- or did anyone ask him the same?
ReplyDelete"I envision the crowd rising against me if that classy caterpillar is not marching itself above my eyes." ... Jim Caviezel in the Horse Dancerer ...
ReplyDeleteO M G(oodness, of course)
I cannot handle your hilariousness. You've made my entire day.
Thanks for pointing out my sucktasticness as well. I sometimes complain that Switchfoot has changed since they went mainstream, that their music is less hopeful now, more depressing, and that message is less Christian. Maybe I should look at it this way: This society gets more depressing and less hopeful with every passing day. Maybe they're just trying to relate to more people to get them to come to shows, where I am hoping they still share the Gospel (haven't seen them live since the Beautiful Letdown tour, so I don't know). Regardless of their motives, I'm certainly not a saint, so I have no business judging.
To quote Adam Brody as Seth Cohen on the OC (another reason why I am a heathen and have no place judging others), "You're so wise, with all your sage wisdom."
To my ear, a "sell out" music artist is someone who purposefully starts making less interesting music in order to appeal to a wider audience and make more money. But this Evanescence thing mostly seems to be a matter of them not wanting to be branded in a certain way.
ReplyDeleteAnd can anyone blame Evanescence for not wanting to be classified as part of the Christian music scene? That scene is weird. Their music is the same either way.
wow. i had no idea evanescence started out on the christian scene.
ReplyDeleteokay, two points in response to this post.
1) i was listening to a radio interview with the a-list blogger heather armstrong yesterday (from dooce.com). before they interviewed her on the show, they interviewed this former NY times blog critic who has published a book about the rise of blogging. anyway, the details of who she is isn't important. what's interesting is how she talked about sellouts in the blogging community in a similar way . . . how the a-listers gain such a following by having a certain style or voice or subject, but once they attract advertisers or land a book deal, they totally sell out and lose the jazziness that made them popular in the first place.
i am not kidding you when i say that i TOTALLY THOUGHT OF YOU when she said this . . . not in the context of you being a sellout but in the context of, 'oh God, i hope that never happens to SCL and jon acuff!!!'
yeah. i'm totally addicted.
2) i'm thinking the difference between the plumber and evanescence is audience. people hire a plumber for a particular skill. people listen to music for sound and content. therefore, with music, you're more discriminating because there's such a wide variety and what you listen to affects your soul.
this is probably an obvious distinction, but it's something i never really put my finger on before, until now. thanks for writing about this subject.
Yup ... we Christians have strange standards. I'm always thrilled to find that my plumber is a Christian, but only because I can relax and not worry about whether I'll see him in heaven or not. hah.
ReplyDeleteAs for the unibrow ... please ask your wife first (hehe). If she's not good with it, release it. Allow it to crawl away. She might love and treasure it, but when the hairs begin crawling out of your ears as well ...
The reason folks hold Christian muscians to a higher standard is because Christian music began as ministry not as merely entertainment. If Christian music is ministry, then those muscians are to be held to the standards of all ministers. For a Christian music minister to play off their faith or to deny it is the equivelant of Billy Graham saying that his faith isn't that big a deal, although .
ReplyDeleteAnother issue that merits more thought is why it's acceptable for Christian artists to be subpar, just as long as they are telling the Gospel Message. Shouldn't the King of Kings receive the best from those who love him?
I think it's fantastic that we have Christian artists, but are we just creating a counter-culture or are we trying to win back for Christ the culture already turning from Him? Evangelization people! Christ already said it, He didn't come to heal those not in need of a doctor, He came for those who were in need of a doctor. Like I said, (explicitly) Christian music definitely has it's place, but we need to be doing something more. I love Switchfoot, Leigh Nash, and Sixpence but I also love the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Coldplay, and Death Cab for Cutie. Something all these artists know how to do is engage their feelings and thoughts in beautiful, intriguing, melodious ways. Society isn't ready for explicitly Christian messages yet, we have to engage them where they're at. Christ doesn't say "you go this far and then I'll come the rest of the way" He goes the entire way, meeting people exactly where they're at and engaging who they are. Why shouldn't we do the same? So what we need are good, talented Christians who will make their way in secular society spreading the Gospel first by example and then later through words. St. Francis of Assisi is quoted to say "Preach the Gospel at all times. When necessary, use words." Come on, I don't have to stand on the street corner shouting "Jesus saves!" and passing out pamphlets to win people to Christ.
ReplyDeleteThis all goes for every type of media, too.
P.S. In "The Horse Dancerer" the goat probably has an addiction to clothes-eating, the cowboy (a.k.a. good old Jim) probably loses most of his clothes one day and tries to kill the goat, which spawns an intervention and taking the goat off the clothes, where from the goat will go through manic withdrawal and no one thinks he will pull through. He does, though, and then trots off into the sunset to visit his cousins, the three billy goats. And I would like to be cast as the girl (though I can dance, I am a fantastic actress).
I still love Evanescence. One of the few bands I like.
ReplyDelete"I can't hold on to me,
Wonder what's wrong with me"
And yes, I agree with Amy Lee. CCM, most of it, is just bad. She also said that she never wanted o be part of the whole Christian thing.
Maybe it's me, maybe I'm still a teeny bit heathen. (In my defense, I do like Weird Al Yankovic, a famous Christian) But, if Terry Balasmo turns into a heroin addict and Amy Lee gets divorced, I'll still love Evanescence (in part because they made that song "Heart-Shaped Box" endurable), and I'll always love alt rock, even if they "sell out", and I can't get a ticket.
thanks for writing that, hopefully the message gets across. It is a difficult thing to be a musician in the first place, to have a faith that is an integral part of your life along with the music is another issue. Combined with living in hollywood it gets pretty messed up really fast. I imagine if i were working with some "christian" band right now that most of my high school friends would act the least bit interested in what I do, but when you tell them your living in hollywood playing for whoever comes along you get the raised unibrow and the condemning "oh, really!?"
ReplyDeleteOh for all those who cant stand sell outs, we musicians and writers and artists of the likes, enjoy being able to eat three times a day and pay our bills on time and raise our families in relative comfort and safety, too.
This is an interesting point. And I agree with you in principle. The problem here isn't that Evanescence wanted a wider audience. I think bands should pursue the largest audience possible because that's how bands make a living. Appealing to the mainstream is not selling out.
ReplyDeleteSelling out is changing your message. When Amy Lee says "I'm over the whole Christian thing," what is it that she is turning her back on? Is it Christ? Is it Christians? Is it other Christian artists?
Christian bands in the mainstream can be great (think Mute Math). The problem starts when you use the Christian rock scene to develop an audience then avoid the christian label like the plague.
I want to read that book.
ReplyDeleteIf you ever write "The Horse Dancerer", it will be enthroned in a place of high honor on my bookshelf.
switchfoot lead jon foreman said that being mainstream is a way of reaching a broader audience to get people to step into a realm of faith that brings one closer to God. paraphrasing of course.
ReplyDeletebtw.. i am unibrow sellout..
I knew of a minister that had his unibrow removed by a laser. He was tired of his preacher buddies giving him a hard time about it.
ReplyDeleteI also think he heard a bunch of commercials about it...
my husband has a unibrow. does that count?
ReplyDeletekw
One of my favorite bands is Copeland. My husband and I read an interview with them where they fully claimed their Christian faith but said they did not want to be titled as a "Christian band" and they explained that they were constantly turning down concerts at churches, Christian events, etc.
ReplyDeleteOne of the band members said that Christians have a way of claiming things and saying, "This is our band" and then people who aren't Christians feel like they can't listen or be a part. That is so true! But I had never put my finger on that. I think that when something comes along that is half-way decent and it's Christian, we're all very quick to call it our own.
excellence... thank you for keeping the judgment at the forefront. we need reminders incessantly.
ReplyDeletei usually encourage business owners not to use the ichthus... when they are advertising... wonder what your thoughts are on this...
me:
• people will be upset if you are human
• you will alienate an entire population of customers
• people will expect you to be less expensive, but expect more from you
• or, people will expect shoddy work.
i'm sure people will disagree with me, no doubt.
Is it not more of a sell out to call yourself a "Christian Artist"? Are you not trading on the name "Christian" in order for financial gain?
ReplyDeleteMaybe when an artist "breaks out on the Christian music scene" they are the sell out.
I don't have any issue with a Christian making money, but it stinks when a Christian tries to make money based on the name "Christian". To me, that's a sell out.
btw: I hope I capitalized all correct "holy" terms, I've read the SCL primer on capitalization, but I'm still working on it...
I remember a lot of people complaining that Leslie Phillips (who had been a big star in the CCM scene during the 80s) had "sold out" when she changed her name to Sam Phillips and began recording with Virgin. I think her music got infinitely more interesting and artful. But she went from being a very big star in a small market to a critically-acclaimed-but-hardly-noticed-by-the-general-public singer/songwriter. (I saw her play a BORDERS for about 50 people a few weeks ago... and this after a stunning 18 year career as Sam!) That's not selling out. That's being authentic, speaking the truth and making the best art you can make.
ReplyDeleteAnd wait... Weird Al's a Christian? Famously?
I would not kill the uni-pillar if I was you. Man-scaping your brow falls directly under the catagory of "selling out", as does Evanescence, Amy Grant, Mase, Bret Michaels, the WWE (what's that? exactly), the show "8 is enough", Deion Sanders, Go-bots, and the color Marigold.
ReplyDeleteAny altercation of your personal appearance or identity to make a statement, or even to be perceived as something other than God has made you, is selling out. This includes but is not limited to: washing your hair, shaving, using make-up, brushing your teeth, wearing clothing made by a designer, ordering by number at a fast-food restaurant, blogging, and owning a frisbee.
This is a warning. Thanks for your cooperation.
The Committee on Committees
The Judgment Olympics--2008
I think the issue with "sell-out" Christian Bands is that it seems that they "used" the Christian scene to get established, and to build a fan base, but as soon as the band builds a large enough recognition they disassociate with the Christian Scene. Not that we don't want to see a Christian get success... but to give some props to the roots that they came from is all that we ask.
ReplyDeleteIn the case of Evanescence, my understanding is that they were doing all these "Christian" Shows, and "Christian Venues", and hanging out with all these other "Christian" Bands until the first sign of success, and all of the sudden, we don't want to associate with the whole group that helped us get to where we are.
Had Evanescence built their success "secularly", the way a "normal" band does it, and not used the Christian scene to get the fan base, following, etc, we would not be having this conversation... Christians hate being used like anyone else does.
This is an awesome blog. I've never read anything like this. I wish I could bring all of you here and we could have one big church together. On second thought, maybe its best we're all spread out.
ReplyDeleteMaybe I'm reading too much into this but, just because you have a business card doesn't make you a sellout Jon. Don't be so hard on yourself. Maybe you could put some coffee stains on each card though to keep the personal touch.
By the way, I think the Evanescence issue is more because they deliberately said "don't call us Christian" and then cussed once or twice to make sure everyone knew they were serious. I think that was a bigger issue than selling out - almost like walking away from their faith. I did feel a little betrayed by them on that one. If POD did that, people would be ticked off.
Good point. All your commenters have left me nothing to say.
ReplyDeleteMy dad always told me that if my faith in Jesus is real, that I won't be able to help letting it come through in everything I do. It will just radiate me. I'll just smell like Jesus.
The record label doesn't matter - as long as the lyrics/music in question doesn't contradict Scripture, we need to let God be their judge.
Here's a common enough sentiment: part of the very definition of the genre of Christian music is that it has to be boring, derivative, and uninventive. Not that every artist who is a Christian makes boring music (nobody thinks that)... but those are artists who happen to be Christian; just in virtue of making interesting music, they fall outside of the genre of "Christian music".
ReplyDeleteAnyway, that's an opinion. Probably an unfair one. But it's a common enough opinion (near universal among non-Christians) that it makes perfect sense to me that a band like Evanescence would want to avoid being labeled as part of the "Christian music" genre.
I'm already pre-ordering my movie tickets to "Horse Dancerer" on Fandango this minute. Wow. I'm grunting loudly with affirmation.
ReplyDeleteAnd I just want to say, there is no shame in removing a large midsection of caterpillar on your forehead. In fact, for your wife's sake, I recommend it. I hear caterpillar hairs actually give you a skin rash, so if you go to kiss your wife and still have that thing on your forehead, be careful for her sake.
Jon, please don't consider me a sellout. I "own" a unibrow, but i routinely break that beast into two smaller, more manageable caterpillars. It may be vanity, but my wife really appreciates it. I give you the utmost props for staying strong with yours, though, you do what lack the strength for.
ReplyDeletei like the comments on this post...
ReplyDeleteChristian music sucks. it's sucktackular, or whatever your SCL word is. i can't remember. do a post on Christian music. not just Carmen. the whole lot.
anyway...
i thought of a five iron frenzy song. i don't remember the name of it. just that one of the lyrics was about how people accused them of being sellouts, and they were like "you're the ones who made us popular!"
and that's what is so weird about people throwing around the accusation that someone "sold out." why do artists have to stick with a small crowd, or maybe not a small crowd...just the same crowd they've always had, and if they ever move on to something else, people start saying they've sold out.
growth and change is ok. it's part of being an artist.
I would like to propose an idea for the Stuff Christians Like Sarcasm Card artwork: perhaps you could have the "caterpillar brow" becoming a butterfly. I mean, that is not selling out -- it's metamorphosis (which is a process created by God Himself). AND if you could work a butterfly into that card and get away with it...I think you should run for President. You'd have my vote. Honestly.
ReplyDeleteJon, a post you think of doing is the growing tendency of emerging church leaders and teams to be "sponsored" by Apple and Starbucks.
ReplyDeletei'mthechief, you're thinking of "Handbook for the Sellout", no?
ReplyDeleteI agree with ummmm, somebody who said you should smell like Jesus. If we're walking the Jesus walk, then we shouldn't have to brand ourselves as Christians. I'm not ashamed of what I am, but to wear it like a brand on my car or my jeans just rings false to me. I don't put a Jesus fish on my business card because I expect that people will know me by the job I do and the integrity I hopefully do it with. PS - checks with Jesus fish on them often bounce -- go figure.
ReplyDeleteIt's unacceptable to use godly gifts for anything that does not glorify God and in fact works to tear his kingdom down. That plumber analogy doesn't work for me. A Christian singer no longer singing about Jesus Christ, but instead singing about sex and clubs and drinking does. I also think watering down your sermons or not saying the name Jesus to broaden your appeal is unacceptable.
ReplyDeleteEvanescence -actively- sought out a Christian Record Label contract. They didn't get one really.
ReplyDeleteBut radio heard some Christian faith expressed in their songs and, in light of their other statements started playing them.
Then they turned around and pretty much stabbed all those stations that played them by saying "What the F*** are we doing on the Christian charts.... " And talking about their love of strip clubs etc.
That said... The Christian Music Industry is ridiculous. The labels are using the name of Christ and God to make money. Pretty much what secular labels do but disguising it as ministry. (Maybe just my jaded view...)
Bands just ought to make music and if it's good, people will listen.
I always find it strange how some Christians will bash a band like Evanesence, who put out good music with no swearing and lyrics with a dash of Christian references, and then turn around and be all excited about Kanye West's "Jesus Walks" which was on a CD full of songs at odds with their faith.
ReplyDeleteIt's indicitive of a pathetic desire to have famous people share your faith as though that will legitimize it in the eyes of pop culture. Why do we care?
Which is more of a sellout, Christians giving more props to a non-Christian mega star who mentions Jesus and faith in one song among his questionable catalog or a Christian musician who doesn't want to be professionally pigeonholed in the "Faith Based" genre?
Out of the abundance of the heart...
If we only live inside our Christian bubble, using only Christian businesses, working in a job with only Christians ... who is going to reach all those people sitting in the cubicles who don't know Jesus? I don't see people using their skills (be it plumbing, banking, or even singing) in a "secular" place as a sell out, as long as they are staying true to their faith. (Don't call yourself a Christian or try to give glory to God for a sub-par job or a song about clubs and women). What I would consider a sell out is someone who is completely ignoring the commandments of Jesus to love our neighbors and to make disciples among ALL people. My pastor says all the time ... if you play around the pool long enough, you'll get wet. If we live our lives out in society, making relationships with people of all walks of life, then eventually the door will open for us to share what it is that makes our lives different. But if we only stick close to our church friends and church business people, we'll never get that chance. If we don't tell them ... who will?
ReplyDeleteI thought about this post as I was getting my eyebrows waxed yesterday. Yep, if selling out is getting rid of a unibrow, I'm a proud one :)
ReplyDeleteThere's a difference between a Christian working in a secular field and an apparent Christian (such as a member of Evanescence) saying that being a Christian band sucked. The question is should they have been a Christian band in the first place if most of them were against it?
ReplyDeleteIf all Christians worked with Christians for Christian organisations, where would evangelism happen? Of course some of us have to work in secular jobs. That doesn't mean we stop acting like Christians.
Look, people. Evanescence today is nothing like it was when "Fallen" was released. It may interest you to know that the only original band member still in Evanescence is Amy Lee. There was much conflict between Moody and Lee for years, and it finally reached a breaking point in 2003, when the band split.
ReplyDeleteAs for Lee turning away from God, no chance. Much of her reputation revolves around her intact (and apparently stable) marriage, her refusal to use sex appeal, and her faith. The other members of the band are still very Christian, one even referencing "My Savior Jesus" in the liner notes, which according to Jon is a sure sign.
I think casting Dakota Fanning in the Horse Dancerer is a MUST.
ReplyDeleteI must not be aware at which point eyebrows are considered unibrows, because I really don't see a unibrow on your picture. Are you sure you have a unibrow?
Jon - If you do happen to write The Horse Dancerer anyway, I hope you will consider using my book cover.
ReplyDeleteWhich I have linked here.