Thanks for all the recommendations. I did end up finding a couple artists I enjoyed. I couldn’t help but post this video. I saw it at Extreme Theology and just had to post it. This guy is very honest and authentic about his feelings toward Christian music, and I tend to agree with him:

I got a bunch of iTunes gifts cards for Christmas, and I have found a couple albums I am currently enjoying, but for the most part, a lot of Christian music sucks. Almost every worship song is playing the same 1-6-5-4 chord progression in the key of E, and most Christian sub-genres look and sound the exact same as their secular counterparts. I thought Christians were to be “in the world, but not of the world.” Is the Christian music industry an exception? Where are the creative artists?

I’ll be reserving my iTunes gift cards until I get some good recommendations. For now, these are some Christian artists I have been enjoying:

• Derek Webb
• Shane & Shane
• Indelible Grace Music
• Caedmon’s Call
• Scott Phillips

What artists have you been enjoying? Any recommendations for artists that glorify God and don’t try to look and sound like the status quo?

Mark Driscoll, pastor of Mars Hill Church, recently studied Acts 2 to come up with a definition of what constitutes a Christian Church. This is what he came up with:

The local church is a community of regenerated believers who confess Jesus Christ as Lord. In obedience to Scripture they organize under qualified leadership, gather regularly for preaching and worship, observe the biblical sacraments of baptism and communion, are unified by the Spirit, are disciplined for holiness, and scatter to fulfill the great commandment and the great commission as missionaries to the world for God’s glory and their joy.

I think he hit the nail on the head. Having read Mars Hill’s doctrinal statement, I was very surprised that he chose to use the word “sacraments” rather than “ordinances” or “testimonies” to refer to Baptism and Holy Communion.

I like calling the sacraments/ordinances “grace-gifts,” but that’s just a personal preference. I do believe they are powerful means of grace through which we receive Christ’s grace and forgiveness.

What do you think? Did Driscoll forget anything that is crucial to the Church? What did you like about his definition? What did you not like?

That seems to describe a lot of what we see in the Church these days, which I’ve termed ‘Nonreligious Christian Spirituality.’

I saw this video over at Miscellanies’ blog, who saw it at DeYoung, Restless, and Reformed:

While it may be a McDonald’s commercial, I think it also contains a lot of truth about how we do church as of late. Kevin DeYoung writes:

I admit it’s funny because I like McDonald’s more than I like coffee shops. (I can get a filling meal at McDonalds for the same price as a thimble of hot chocolate at Starbucks). Some people don’t like the ad because they think it makes fun of jazz music, facial hair, and reading poetry. I like the ad, not because I think it makes fun of these things, but because it makes fun of the haughtiness that sometimes comes with these things. McDonalds has cheap greasy food, the atmosphere is utilitarian, and their coffee is pedestrian. But, hey, some people like burgers, fries, frugality, and bad coffee.

I mention all of this because so much that passes for spirituality these days is nothing more than middle class, 20-something coffee culture. If you like jazz, soul patches, earth tone furniture, and lattes, that’s cool. But this culture is no holier than the McNugget, Hi-C, Value City, football culture that most people live in. Why does incarnational ministry usually mean hanging out at Starbucks instead of McDonalds?

Jesus came to save Grimace and Hamburglar too.

Wow, well said Kevin. In Christianity 2.0’s push toward cultural relevance, we can’t be so quick to lump everyone into the ’sophisticated coffeehouse subculture’. God’s people are very diverse, and our fellowships should reflect the same. I posted this picture on Thanksgiving, and I think it speaks volumes. I’ll close with the image and let it speak for itself. Are we reaching these people?

Apple launched an advertising campaign you may be familiar with called Mac vs. PC. I stumbled across a parody of these videos called “Christ Follower vs. Christian” that I thought was pretty entertaining. Don’t worry, this is not becoming a video log (vlog), I will still be writing more great content, but some things are best communicated visually, and I want to give everyone at least one more day to digest the “Great Tensions of our Faith” post. These videos are all relatively short, but thought-provoking. Please note I am not trying to bash using the term ‘Christian’ or advocate an ulterior movement, I just think this is hilarious and accurately reflects stereotypes that my generation holds of ‘Christians’ today. As you watch, ask yourself if they appear to be justified stereotypes or not. For more of my thoughts concerning the terms “Christ Follower” and “Christian,” see my post entitled Nonreligious Christian Spirituality.

For more of my thoughts concerning the terms “Christ Follower” and “Christian,” see my post entitled Nonreligious Christian Spirituality.