In Chapter 4 of Imagine, I think Turner is trying to get his readers to understand that sometimes the best way to get people to Jesus is not by standing on street corners and yelling at them. If you are a Christian, you do not technically have to sing about Jesus in order to have your music be successful. If you are a Christian artist, every piece you finish does not have to have the face of Jesus on it in order for it to be considered beautiful or worthy of your time. When I read this chapter, I think of bands and artists like Switchfoot, Kings of Leon, Lifehouse, Colony House, Lenny Kravitz, and NEEDTOBREATHE whose music does not scream JESUS. But if you were to look closely at the lyrics and really meditate on them, you could see that a lot of the songs and music are about Jesus and his redemption. These artists just choose to make their words less direct, so that the music is appealing to those of all faith backgrounds.
One thing I love about music is that it is whatever you make it out to be. An atheist could listen to NEEDTOBREATHE's "Something Beautiful" and think of a romantic relationship that seems to be failing at the time. But then you could get a Christian to listen to the same song and hear something completely different. He could take away something about how Jesus takes away our fears, tears, and struggles and turns them into something beautiful. He could take away the fact that the artist wants Jesus to consume them and create them into the person Jesus created them to be. It is SO SO cool to me how one song can have so many different meanings, and can reach all kinds of people in all kinds of places in life.
I think the biggest thing that impacted me was when Turner mentioned C.S. Lewis. He uses one of Lewis' quotes about how he sees God. Then Turner says this, "It is possible to create work saturated with gospel insights without spelling out the plan of salvation." I think this quote really impacted me because I am one who connects easily to the bands I mentioned above. I love listening to music that is not overtly Christian, but still has meaning and content to a Christian listener.
I also think that another thing that impacted me was at the end of chapter 4 when Steve Turner talked about how we have to be careful not the be too far "split" in our way of doing life. For example, if I am wanting to be a "Christian" artist, I have to be sure not to create this little bubble of church that I never come out of. Just like in the same way, if I am a Christian that does not want to be considered a "gospel writer," then I have to be careful not to make my work too secular or worldly. I think maybe we just have to be extra intentional and extra careful when deciding how to go about our work. We can't be worried about being too secular or too religious. We have to be confident and pray for our work to reach people of all backgrounds - not just those the music/work is intended for.
One thing I love about music is that it is whatever you make it out to be. An atheist could listen to NEEDTOBREATHE's "Something Beautiful" and think of a romantic relationship that seems to be failing at the time. But then you could get a Christian to listen to the same song and hear something completely different. He could take away something about how Jesus takes away our fears, tears, and struggles and turns them into something beautiful. He could take away the fact that the artist wants Jesus to consume them and create them into the person Jesus created them to be. It is SO SO cool to me how one song can have so many different meanings, and can reach all kinds of people in all kinds of places in life.
I think the biggest thing that impacted me was when Turner mentioned C.S. Lewis. He uses one of Lewis' quotes about how he sees God. Then Turner says this, "It is possible to create work saturated with gospel insights without spelling out the plan of salvation." I think this quote really impacted me because I am one who connects easily to the bands I mentioned above. I love listening to music that is not overtly Christian, but still has meaning and content to a Christian listener.
I also think that another thing that impacted me was at the end of chapter 4 when Steve Turner talked about how we have to be careful not the be too far "split" in our way of doing life. For example, if I am wanting to be a "Christian" artist, I have to be sure not to create this little bubble of church that I never come out of. Just like in the same way, if I am a Christian that does not want to be considered a "gospel writer," then I have to be careful not to make my work too secular or worldly. I think maybe we just have to be extra intentional and extra careful when deciding how to go about our work. We can't be worried about being too secular or too religious. We have to be confident and pray for our work to reach people of all backgrounds - not just those the music/work is intended for.
http://iplusbuzz.info/needtobreathe-discography-2015-itunes-plus-aac-m4a-m4v/