The Christian world is abuzz with the recent news regarding Jennifer Knapp. Â Christianity Today recently posted an interview in which the Grammy-nominated Christian musician disclosed her homosexuality. Â As I read the subsequent reaction, it seems as though another one of our cultural champions has fallen.
As a boy, I remember my mother telling me that Amy Grant was transitioning into secular music. Â I recall trying to get my head around the idea of “secular” and coming to a realization that we now had one of our own soldiers infiltrating the enemy front. Â Grant was quickly followed by Michael W. Smith. Â It seemed that nothing could stop our subversive onslaught.
And today, many Christians look to bands like U2 or Switchfoot to become our champion such that if their records sell, Christianity [in some form or another] would advance. Â This follows because we identify the faith and its advancement with the music produced by Christian figures independent of its content. Â This implicit identification comes out in Knapp’s interview. Â During her difficult decision to take a hiatus from the Christian music world, she struggled with the question “If I don’t do Christian music, am I not a believer anymore?” Knapp appears to have found her identity in being a Christian musician, not primarily in Jesus Christ.
In our cult of celebrity we look to famous figures to provide hope and meaning.  Frankly, we look to them as saviors.  Take for example, the American Idol phenomenon.  The title is apropos, and the concept is one of the driving factors behind the reaction to Knapp’s interview.  Christian music figures become objects of worship because we see them as the ones who advance the kingdom.
Unfortunately this misses the point entirely. Â We should not look to Christian musicians [or even, dare I say, T4G speakers] for validation. Â We cannot look to the culture’s acceptance of our “Christian” artists as a gauge for the advancement of the kingdom. Christ advances his own kingdom through the Spirit. Redemption occurs exclusively through the regenerating work of the Spirit upon the souls of sinners. Â So while we will be disappointed when professing Christians move away from biblical principles, if we place our trust in Jesus Christ, our living hope, we will never be disappointed.
// To hear more on the relationship between the church and culture, listen to our current Christ and Culture debate at Reformed Forum.
post photo from nolefan32 and is licensed under Creative Commons CC-BY-SA-3.0 license.
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