By Maya Minwary
Assistant A&E Editor
Rock concerts have been known to put a frown on the faces of concerned parents and older generations who swore rock is the devil’s music.
Their claims aren’t without merit. There have been known (although rare) cases of spectators getting hurt in the midst of mosh pits and crowd surfing, alcohol and drug abuse on the scene and girls swooning at the sight of heartthrobs like the Beatles and Elvis Presley.
Fortunately, for the worrisome parents, there are “tamed,” sit-down concerts from the likes of Barbra Streisand and Luciano Pavarotti.
True, Streisand and Pavarotti’s music isn’t very popular among the younger crowds (especially Streisand’s music at Pepperdine, for that matter).
For the fretful Christian parents, there is the option of Christian concerts featuring serene artists such as Nicole Nordeman to adrenaline-pumping bands like Switchfoot and 12 Stones.
While Christian rock concerts have caused concert-goers to head bang, jump up and down and scream at the top of their lungs, it’s a relatively tame event compared to some of their secular, ruckus-causing counterparts such as Marilyn Manson.
During the concert, the band or artist usually gives a spiritual and inspirational message and the spectators would scream something along the lines of “Yeah, Jesus!” or “Jesus rocks!” Then everyone would clap and cheer. And after the concerts there are usually volunteers to pick up trash and help the band’s crew clean the mess.
Seems fine, dandy and sugar sweet, right? I always thought so. I’d always preferred going to a Christian concert for that very reason. It gave me a spiritual rejuvenation.
But two weeks ago, I went to a Five Iron Frenzy concert, on their last tour before the ska/punk/rock Christian band officially breaks up later this month.
The concert passed by smoothly as I anticipated. As soon as the lead singer Reese paused the music to speak about how the music isn’t and shouldn’t be about his band, someone in the audience, sure enough, shouted “Jesus.” The cry was met with cheers from the rest of the crowd.
This time, however, Reese didn’t respond with the usual smile and nod that many other Christian artists would. He paused and told the audience something along the lines of: it’s fine and easy to yell Jesus’ name and have people cheer for Jesus, but he’s afraid that it’s all superficial, a mediocre act to affirm one’s faith. But after the concert, then what happens? Do we follow what we root for?
At first, I was uneasy and a bit offended by what he said; I was part of that crowd that always cheered every time someone yelled “Jesus.”
The more I thought about it, however, the more I realized how much Reese’s statement is true.
It’s comfortable to be a Christian one day of the week — or in this case, one concert at a time — but that’s the big mistake that many who call themselves Christian make.
It’s also easy to criticize secular music for its provoctative lyrics and lack of spritual inspiration. Yet, if a Christian song only can only give the audience one brief moment of spiritual motivation, then what’s the point for the need of Christian music?
What happens when the band plays their final song and the event is over? Do we forget what we cheered for in the midst of our busy lives? Are we that shallow?
Of course there is nothing wrong with applauding Jesus and I would still choose a Christian concert over a Streisand or Pavarotti performance anytime. Nevertheless, too often Christians go to a Christian concert to get that brief moment of spiritual rejuvenation, meanwhile thinking that we’ve made God happy.
Being a Christian is more than rooting for Jesus, going to a Christian concert or acting like one when it’s convenient. It may seem like a “Duh” statement, but it’s easy to forget that … sometimes too easy.
November 13, 2003
