why music is not different

When one becomes a nurse, does the evangelical church make that one find a hospital run only by Christians, that specializes in treating Christian patients, and gives out tracts and altar calls for any non-Christians who happen to receive treatment there?

Then why do we do it to our musicians?

There was a time when I bought all the rhetoric that a Christian who plays music should play only songs about God, sign on a Christian label, and should never tour with non-Christian bands. Any band that signed on a "secular" label or wrote lyrics that were not in your face about Jesus had "sold out."

We could make the same case for our nurses, couldn't we? Let's apply evangelical rhetoric to that example. Most doctors in a secular institution learned their biology from (gasp!) evolutionists. Many don't even give a thought to praying for their patients. The physical needs are given priority over spiritual. I mean, shouldn't a person who might be dying be more concerned about their spiritual well-being than their physical? A "secular" doctor might not think so. Therefore, it's probably best if all Christian nurses find only Christian hospitals in which to work, so they won't be taken captive by the vain humanistic evolution-believing liberal lies of secular hospitals. If you're sick, you should also find a Christian hospital. If you're having a heart attack and the closest one is 12 hours away, you should just trust that God will sustain you until then, since God doesn't like secular hospitals. Too much "compromise."

You see how silly this all is. I surprised my wife with tickets to Alison Krauss and Union Station. What a tremendous night of bluegrass music. Alison Krauss' voice is unbelievable. Dan Tyminski (it's the Soggy Bottom Boys!) is an incredible musician. Jerry Douglas - there are just no words for what he can do on the dobro. This could be the most talented band touring now. And by the way, Alison Krauss and Ron Block are Christians. Ron Block writes excellent Christian lyrics to bluegrass music, and he rocks on that banjo. The concert's encore was nothing short of a sacred moment. The gospel was communicated through the music, in the midst of lyrics about heartbreak, loss, war, and other difficult aspects of life. Alison and Ron aren't caught in all the trappings of the Christian subculture. They are using their talents to honor the Lord with their vocation - music. Thank God for them, and would that there were more like them. This is what engaging the culture with the gospel and honoring the Lord with the arts should look like.