I have a confession:  I don’t like Christian music! 

I have another confession:  I secretly mock the person who says that they do. 

I know, it is horrible.  There is so much value in the world of Christian music, but for some reason it is such a joke to me.  Part of me doesn’t even feel bad about it.  I think that every person who has grown up in a student ministry has had that moment where they threw away or burned all their CD’s and bought every Christian CD they could get their hands on.  My moment was in 9th grade.  It was really a turning point in my life where I decided to chase after the things of God, and my music really was a bad influence on me.  It turns out that falling asleep to Korn every night isn’t great for the soul.  So after a winter retreat, I ditched all my music and bought every Christian CD that had a cool looking cover.  My collection of the O.C. Supertones, By the Tree, Relient K, Sanctus Real, and Five Iron Frenzy seemed to get me through my freshman year of high school.  I bought in and saw the value.  Then, I got over it.  I realized my heart was right, my priorities were right, and my spiritual disciplines were in check, and the music I listened to didn’t make me any more or less holy, it just made me feel like “Super-Christian!”  I don’t know when or how I made the transition, but I slowly found my way back to world of secular music, and I have to say, I haven’t turned back.  I like my Weezer and Jack Johnson!

I clearly don’t have a problem with non-Christian music.  For some reason, I do have a problem with Christian music, and I don’t know why.  There is a lot of really good stuff out there that doesn’t have that cheesy Christian radio vibe to it, yet the second someone mentions a “Christian band” I mark them off as poppycock.  Because of this, I have failed to introduce the thought of uplifting, clean, and spiritually strong music to the generation of students God has sent my way.  I have written it off so much that I don’t even let anyone else make their own decision about Christian music; it is simply not an option in my world.  And as much as it may suck, I am ripping off students from the opportunity to really experience the same culture cleansing I went through my freshman year.

I am quick to mock or turn my back to the thought of Christian music because I really don’t think secular music is doing me any harm.  But what if I’m wrong?  What if it really is warping my mind like my middle school small group leader taught me?  What if I really would be better off with a positive influence?  What if the music I am listening too really isn’t glorifying God in any way, and I am just shrugging it off?  Don’t get me wrong, I’m not listening to music that is teaching me to worship Satan or drink myself into an oblivion, and I really don’t think I am doing any harm by listening to the occasional jam from my favorite woman loving guy with a guitar.  But I do think that sometimes people reach a point where they realize that there is no need for legalism, so they turn the complete opposite direction.  Instead of being cautious of everything they put in their mind, hearts, and bodies, they feel as long as they love God, they are good.  The thing is, no matter what age or maturity, we still need to protect our hearts and minds, and should really teach our students to do the same.