Last week I promised<\/a> some posts on Christians who are currently navigating the larger entertainment world. Here is the first installment. I\u2019m going to begin with two incidents, involving two female Christian singers, that caused some kerfuffle around the 2014 Grammy Awards. First of all, \u00a0as some of you may have picked up on the interwebs, there were several performances in particular that were especially offensive this year. One was an obscenely sexualized number by celebrity couple Jay-Z and Beyonce. Another was a so-called \u201cwedding ceremony,\u201d including same-sex couples, officiated by a female celebrity with a temp license and blasphemously set against the stained-glass backdrop of a church service. I have been struggling with being in the world, not of it lately. I have fallen prey to the alluring pull of flesh, pride, and selfish desires quite a bit recently. To be clear, she did throw in a couple of qualifiers in the rest of her post that tempered the force of this message. For example, she introduced it by emphasizing, \u201cYes, both times I have gone to the Grammys I have witnessed performances I wish I could erase from my memory, and yes, I fast forwarded through several performances this year; but my reason is not because of\u00a0them<\/i>, it\u2019s because of\u00a0me<\/i>.\u201d \u00a0She also left\u00a0open the possibility of attending in the future if she felt ready for it. So, it should be obvious to any of her detractors that she is trying very hard to be the salt and light the world needs. While I would encourage Mandisa to, if anything, take an even harder position, I was encouraged that she didn\u2019t feel self-conscious about pointing out the dangerous allure of what the Grammys embody. It\u2019s clear that she\u2019s alive to those problems, and I applaud her for, however gently, drawing a line. Grant\u2019s decision to leave, and her decision to post on Facebook about it, were probably well-intentioned, but that doesn\u2019t mean they were wise. \u00a0In fact, maybe it wasn\u2019t just her many thoughts about the evening that were \u201cbetter left inside her head\u201d \u2014 maybe she should have also left inside her head the very fact that she had those thoughts.<\/p>\n Grant\u2019s post opened the door for conservative media outlets to denounce the night and affirm her \u201cbravery.\u201d \u00a0Her post opened the door for liberal media outlets once again to decry the judgmentalism of Christians. It opened the door for a lot of hate and name-calling to rush in.<\/p>\n Despite her best intentions, I fear that Grant\u2019s post comes across as holier-than-thou. \u00a0As my friend Laura Turner\u00a0tweeted<\/a>, \u201cIt reminded me of Christian friends who asked others not to cuss around them in HS. So showy.\u201d<\/p>\n I can\u2019t help but wonder if a more appropriate response would have been to leave without saying a word. \u00a0After all, didn\u2019t Jesus tell us to do our praying in private? \u00a0And when we do good works, not even to let the right hand know what the left hand is doing?<\/p>\n I can\u2019t help but wonder if a more appropriate response would even have been to stay. Christians are not so holy that we can\u2019t bear to be around offensive behavior \u2014 and we shouldn\u2019t expect a secular event to conform to our standards of morality. \u00a0Jesus was holiness incarnate and he happily rubbed shoulders with the most despised sinners of his day.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
\nNatalie Grant and Mandisa are two of the most popular female vocalists in contemporary Christian music. Some of you are probably already familiar with Grant\u2019s work on a couple of Gaither videos. Mandisa may be less familiar, but she was a stand-out on American Idol s0me years back and has since enjoyed a successful career on the CCM circuit. What else do these ladies have in common? Both were nominated for Grammys in categories for the best Christian song\/record of the year. Also, both chose to make a public gesture distancing themselves from the culture of the Grammys.
\nIn Mandisa\u2019s case, she had already chosen not even to attend the ceremony. Here is an excerpt from what she had to say<\/a> on her Facebook wall:<\/p>\n
\n\u201cDon\u2019t fall in love with this\u00a0corrupt<\/i>\u00a0world or\u00a0worship<\/i>\u00a0the things it can offer. Those who love its corrupt ways don\u2019t have the Father\u2019s love living within them.\u00a0All the things the world can offer to you\u2014the allure of pleasure, the passion to have things, and the pompous sense of superiority\u2014do not come from the Father\u2026\u201d 1 John 2:15-16a (The Voice)
\nI knew that submerging myself into an environment that celebrates those things was risky for me at this time. I am taking steps to renew my mind to become the Heavenly Father-centered, completely satisfied with Jesus, and Holy Spirit-led woman I felt I was a few months ago, but I\u2019m feeling a bit like an infant learning to walk again on shaky legs. Perhaps being alone with Him as my name was announced was protecting myself from where my flesh would have tried to drag me had I been up on that stage. It gave me time to focus. With what I do for a living, and the doors that have opened for me to sing about Jesus on mainstream platforms, I take the phrase from John 15:19, \u201cbe in the world, not of it\u201d seriously. God never taught us to stay in our safe Christian bubbles, completely separating from those who do not share our faith (see 1 Corinthians 5). After all, how else will people come to know Him, if not by His children? We must live, look, and speak differently so that we shine (see Matthew 5, Philippians 2, and 1 Peter 3)! I can\u2019t force my morality on anyone else. What I\u00a0can<\/i>\u00a0do is live my life in such a way that reflects well on my Savior, stand firm in my values, and do all of these things in love.\u00a0 If God can use this Grammy win to advance His Kingdom, I\u2019m all in!<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
\nNatalie Grant kicked off an even greater ruckus by her actions. She did attend the Grammys with her husband, but they chose to leave early. She took to Facebook for these brief reflections: \u201cWe left the Grammy\u2019s [sic] early. I\u2019ve many thoughts about the show tonight, most of which are probably better left inside my head. But I\u2019ll say this: I\u2019ve never been more honored to sing about Jesus and for Jesus. And I\u2019ve never been more sure of the path I\u2019ve chosen.\u201d
\nOnce again, about as harsh as baby bath. Yet Grant immediately faced severe criticisms from secular and Christian liberals alike. One particularly odious reply<\/a> on Christ and Pop Culture went so far as to suggest that not only \u201cshould\u201d Grant have said\u00a0nothing\u00a0<\/em>about leaving, but she shouldn\u2019t have left in the first place! That author linked positively to an equally shallow piece<\/a> on the \u201credemptive possibilities\u201d inherent in Jay-Z and Beyonce\u2019s number (oh, if only I were making this stuff up\u2014suggestive image advisory, by the way). Herewith, a sample of the monumental stupidity that apparently now qualifies as insightful Christian cultural commentary:<\/p>\n\n