A new kind of missionary.

Before some of you stop reading, let me just say this: I need an open mind from you today. Hear me out.

Ok, that aside.

I love hardcore music. I know, I know. Not quite what you might have expected.

Hardcore, metal core, death core, two-step, different bands fall into different categories and I like all of it. Now why, you might ask, do I like this kind of music? In being the good Christian woman I am trying to be, I am going to play the blame game.
I blame my family.
My family listened to everything when I was growing up. From  Boston and The BeeGees, to the Spinners and Carly Simon, to Celine Dion and Barry Manilow, to Chicago and the Temptations.
If it was on the radio, on any kind of station, after 1960…well…I’ve got it covered.
Music was on all the time in my house when I was growing up. Every single room had its own stereo, it was always on in the car. We had “family” songs that meant something special to all of us, and our father made all of us kids be musical, in some form or another.  Music was BIG.

 It was no shock to any of us, then, when my brothers started listening to “harder” genres of music. Of course my mother wanted to know right from the get-go what the lyrics were. That was her thing: lyrics. She only let us listen to things with not-bad lyrics. She was happy, then, when the boys had some stuff with good lyrics. And even though it might have been a little harder than we were used to, it was better than what everyone else was listening to in the weight room after sports practices. So they got away with it.

 Now let me get off this little Life History lesson. I know there are a lot of theories or philosophies or doctrines about music out there. I, however, was unaware that there were until about two years ago. Style of music, beats, rhythms, drums, there was never an issue with in my house. Why? Because, there really isn’t anything about those philosophies in the Bible. Some of those doctrines start off with a good idea, but I do fear that the baby gets thrown out with the bath-water sometimes.

And speaking of babies that get thrown out: Hardcore music.

People cringe, people rant and rave, they claim it’s devil music, full of hateful lyrics and sin everywhere. And a lot of it is devil music. Most of it is hateful and sin everywhere. But has the thought ever occurred to you that there are a lot of KIDS who listen to that
“devil music” and ONLY that devil music? Like kids in your neighborhood, or in your daughters’ school, or in your house?  And what are we as Christians doing about those kids, about this culture, which is right down the street? We send missionaries to China and India and Papua New Guinea, but are we willing to send missionaries here? To THIS unreached people group? Do we care enough to care about those souls? Or do we even KNOW that this group exists?!

This culture of kids tends to live this music. They breathe it in and eat it up and talk about it and listen to it and reside in its culture. All of their friends are in it, too. It is a place for them to belong. And most of them don’t love Jesus. Or don’t know Jesus. Or have never heard of Jesus.

These kids tend to look like this:

 Now, some of these boys are Christians. And some of these boys are not. But they all kind of look the same because that’s the point. The Hardcore culture does not, in general, believe in church, especially GOING to a church. They tend to not believe in fake things, or hypocrisy, and they say that’s what church is, that’s what Christians are. So some Christians have taken it upon themselves to go and BE church to these kids. To minister to this culture where it is at. Making relationships with them, looking and dressing like them, building trust with them, and eventually starting conversations with them, once they see that these Christians aren’t “like all the rest,” that these Christians are real.

There is controversy around this style of music. It has been said that it is making these kids “hard,” but can we really blame the hardness of some people on a drum beat? Let’s be honest, it’s a little bit of a cop-out. Music doesn’t make you something, music brings out something. Music has a tendency to bring to the surface things that are already in you, and I don’t care WHAT style of music we are talking about. My question to all of you then is how are we going to address the “hardness” in this culture? How are we going to reach this people group? They are not only across oceans or in far jungles. They are next door, they are in our schools, they are in our houses, and we cannot turn our heads any longer.

Do me a favor and read these lyrics. And then, for those of you who have your minds set on what “Christian music” should and should not sound like, tell me what’s not Christian about this.

Nothing to Hide, by the band A Past Unknown:
Perfect, I can’t quite seem to add up to Your means of being Holy. Do you still see me when I curse, backbite, try to run and hide? Say I’m something that I’m not, fooling everyone.

Hypocrite, take it in, you’re dead before My eyes. Perfect, you faker, I see who you are, you cannot hide.

Is there no sympathy? My lips are quick to speak. In selfishness I do what I want until the end.

Blinded, my way I can’t see, my way is right to me, in the end, my way is death.

My way wretched, my way misled, taste the poison I am spoon fed.

I need Your sympathy, my wretched self deserves nothing. Teach me Your ways, be my everything, You will see the death of me.

My way is not what I want, body shaking, sick to the core. A hypocrite deserving of death, do you see how wretched I am?

Are you like me? Are you filthy? Sin in the blood? Guilty like the rest of us? Selfish we are looking out for one, if I say I’m blameless I’m deceiving myself. I am wretched, I am misled, I need Your grace, will you take this from me?

And now, watch this video. This is at a concert of these new kinds of missionaries, singing the lyrics you just read:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p8el_WCbJIU

 I know that this is not all of your cup of tea. I know this is not what you want to hear every day. But I do want you to be aware of what is going on. And I am not asking you to adopt this style of music to your playlists, but I am asking you to support this ministry. Without bands going into this genre and singing Christian lyrics and forming relationships with this culture, they will remain unreached, untouched and unsaved, and I believe that the church will be held to blame. This is a part of “all the world” we are to make disciples in and personal preference has no place in deeming some cultures acceptable or unacceptable to be reached. Jesus died for all of these kids and all of these bands. Christians need to be there to tell them that.