First of all, let me state that I am not a fan of American Idol any longer. After they decided to leave the voting to the fans and Taylor Hicks was voted #1 I gave up. However, I am familiar with the show enough to speak about it in the context of this question: Is it Biblical for worship leaders (People that lead the worship music set in the local church) to be a contestant on American Idol?
There is a huge influx of Christian worship leaders making a big splash on the Idol scene. Arguably, they are as talented as any other competitor. It’s not on the basis of talent that I pose this question though. It’s on the basis of being a leader within the church and also seeking fame (and subsequently, fortune) on a televised popularity contest.
Not to be judgmental here, but doesn’t it seem as if singing in the church for the Lord isn’t good enough if worship leaders are seeking their shot at fame on American Idol? Can seeking fame and being responsible to lead a congregation of people into songs of worship for the Lord kind of contradictory to each other?
Is it okay for someone that feels called by God and is appointed by the church to lead them into a spirit of worship to drop that while they record a secular CD and go on tour as a musician? Can one be called to lead others into a spirit of worship in the local church and sing secular songs accomanied with fame and money at the same time? Can one follow God & money at the same time?
As a worship leader, one is trained and called to take focus away from themselves and stress the focus be put upon God and Christ. As an American Idol winner, they are only putting focus on themselves. As a star who is being idolized and signing autographs, I think it’s impossible not to let that lifestyle impact and influence who someone is. Does that persona belong in the church?
Imagine if I were to record a CD of songs and market myself a a singer. They weren’t songs of Christ, but instead they were love songs or songs about life. How would the public respond? How would the church respond? Would it be okay for me to play some sermon videos or get some guest pastors to speak to the church while I am off being a rockstar? What happens when my ten minutes of fame are up? Will people look at me as a humble pastor trying to live a life for God, or will they look at me as a rockstar or worst yet, a rockstar has-been?
We in the church are joyful and encouraging of worship leaders that leave us behind in the name of pursuing fame and fortune and accolades for their musicianship. Should we? Are we just giving into pop culture and showing that singing for God should take a back seat when it comes to taking the stage on American Idol?
- Proverbs 22:1 NCV:
Being respected is more important than having great riches.
To be well thought of is better than silver or gold.
Matthew 6:24 CEV:
You cannot be the slave of two masters! You will like one more than the other or be more loyal to one than the other. You cannot serve both God and money.
Galatians 1:10 NLT:
Obviously, I’m not trying to win the approval of people, but of God. If pleasing people were my goal, I would not be Christ’s servant.
Can one say that they are not trying to seek the approval of people if they are at the mercy of the buying public in order to remain popular and sell CDs and get radio airplay? In essence, aren’t they (and the record companies) marketing themselves and profiting from their work in worldly ways?
I’m not being a crazy zealot here. I’m not protesting against Danny Gokey, Kris Allen, Michael Sarver or Scott McIntyre (all 4 of whom were from this season). I’m just calling some attention to how we are coveting culture and submitting to it. We are glorifying the person and not Christ who shines within them. Make all the arguments you want about being light in a dark world and using Idol as a platform to share the good news of the gospel, but if that were really true, why aren’t any of these worship leaders doing something boldly like donating 100% of the proceeds to a charity or humanitarian effort and calling upon others to do the same? Instead, they have the same haircuts, wear the same clothes, listen to the same secular music, and have similar goals of stardom and advancing themselves just as those in the world do.
Agree or disagree, I do believe that the perspective I have presented does reflect Scripture and should cause us to pause and ask ourselves if this really the way Jesus is calling us to engage in the culture.
Related posts:
- A note to worship leaders
- 10 Ways for Worship Leaders to Hinder the Church
- The winner of Dave’s American Idol is….
- Asian-American church vs multi-cultural church, part 2
- Can Acts 2 be lived out in a second-gen Asian-American church?
Tags: american idol
The only part about American Idol I loved was the first season auditions. I never watched the show past that. So I’m not sure what impact it has on our culture at this time.
The argument here seems to be followers of Christ (worship leaders) pursuing worldly things (fame and fortune)? If that is the case, I agree with you fully, Dave. The only thing is, no one knows the heart of those who are pursuing American Idol aside from God. Those things you described are definitely real temptations if one chooses to pursue the path of that TV show, but in the end, only God knows of their real motives.
Heck, I think I would try out for it just to see how far I can go and how much fun I can have. Fame doesn’t interest me, but getting Jesus into the lives of people do. But being realistic, many would probably cave into the temptations, myself included. But that doesn’t mean that God wasn’t calling them to jump into the heart of the American culture to plant some seeds.
So the bottom line, I agree with what you are saying. However, I also do not claim to know their hearts so it is not my place to criticize those worship leaders that pursue American Idol.
Hi Sambi, I agree that we shouldn’t judge other people’s hearts. That wasn’t the intent of the post. However, if people are in the competition to win, then they will be away from the church. If a worship leader won the competition, they then become part of the marketing machine that packages them up in a way that is pleasing and pushes them to be successful and sell CDs. That’s just a fact of the business.
If I were a Christian and called by God to share light in the world through secular music, that would be much different than being someone called to lead worship in the local church going out and doing that, while still trying to maintain their role in the church. Worse yet, when a worship leader gains stardom in the world of secular music, what happens once that gig is up? Can they just go back to leading worship and not have a rockstar attitude? I think the lines get blurred and temptation, as you stated, becomes very tough to overcome.
No worship leader has won the Idol competition so it’s all speculative at this point, but my main purpose behind the post was how this situation relates to Scripture.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts!!! Especially considering your position as a gifted musician & worship leader in the local church :)
i tolerate it, but it’s gotten weaker over the years.
Ok Dave, I’m gonna call you out on this one bro. Ya know I Love ya like a brother. What you are calling into question is the marketplace in general; if we break this down to the smallest context of society or culture. If we work in any context, outside of the church we are working for money and for our bosses (and that requires them approving of our work) – no?
In essence, you are saying that it is wrong for Christ-followers to be successful in the world? I don’t know if I necessarily agree with that. Should it matter if Danny is a worship leader or not? No.., he has been given a gift by God and if he is giving Glory to God for that gift and in the use of that gift – whether he becomes famous or not, isn’t that really the most important thing? For instance, say Danny wins – His actions, his lifestyle, character, integrity, etc…., will be scrutinized – let’s say he lives for Jesus to fullest in the midst of all that, and all the world sees that – isn’t that also Kingdom Living and Missional/ Incarnational living?
Anyway.., I see nothing wrong with Danny or anyone doing this – as long as Jesus/God get all the Glory and Cred!
Much Love bro!
In His Love,
Richie
Richie, I see your point. I receive it. However, the context is a little different from my perception I think. As someone that is what seems like full-time ministry + overtime, but does not receive a salary or any financial compensation from the church, when I work my business I am working for money. However, provision is a necessity in order to pay my expenses. I am not rich, nor am I seeking fame. Additionally, I am not a worship leader.
To me, it does matter if Danny or any other Idol contestant is a worship leader. I’m not calling him or anyone else out as seeking a life of sin or being in disobedience to God or anything so harsh. I’m simply saying that if one is called to lead God’s people in worship within the local church, putting that on hold to go on American Idol isn’t something I see as reasonable. If one is going on Idol to show the love and truth of Christ, then why get involved in the media hype, the demands of being away from family while on the road touring, the temptation to make it about ones self and less about God, and seek to make a lot of money? Jesus wasn’t about making lots of money. He wasn’t about bringing fame to himself.
If an American Idol winner drew attention to God by his actions/lifestyle, character, integrity, etc. that is a great thing. However, in the context of doing such things while on the road looking to *perform* in front of people for money and popularity just kinda rubs me the wrong way. It would be like me being on tv or the radio and getting paid based on how many people I could impress with my ability to speak, but never preach the gospel…I would just speak about anything because I had a gift of having a good speaking voice. Then, when the money dried up and my record company or tv production studio dropped because I was out of favor, I went back to the church and started preaching because there was nothing left for me in Hollywood.
If I work in a secular job (which I do actually) and interact with non-Christians, then I can be light and salt and that is part of my purpose here on earth. When I change that and make it about how popular I can be and the money that comes with that lifestyle, that is when it goes to a different playing field.
Honestly, I had no issue with this until something just spoke to me last week and I felt as if it was something for me to look at from a Scriptural perspective. In the end, if my opinion on this issue isn’t valid to others, that’s quite okay. It’s how I’m feeling at the moment and I was curious to see how others felt about it. Obviously, it seems like everyone else is encouraging of worship leaders being on Idol. To me it’s kinda like that wold in sheep’s clothing…something of the world that has slyly let us think we can be an Idol and still honor God with no problem. The two conflict with each other in my book.
Much love back at ya bro! Thanks for taking the time to share your opinion. I appreciate you friend!
PS. Biblically right or wrong, no matter what any of us do God will get the glory anyways…he reigns supreme! :)
Just a follow up – if we are truly living for God/Christ – is not everything we do Worship? Whether we are a worship leader in the market place or a market place musician, i.e., Switchfoot who worships God in the market place; does it make a difference.
Is it any different than a bi-vocational pastor who is successful in his part-time secular job and all who work with him in that job see the Love of Christ in all he does without him even having to say or preach a thing?
This is really what I was trying to say. :-)
I want to add to your point, Rich, a valuable piece of information that may help those with opposing views understand the point.
Firstly, you are CALLED to lead worship and if you are called then you are gifted to lead it. then you must understand your purpose. This is (should be) the purpose of a worship leader: to lead people into the presence of God through heart-felt, soul-changing, and God-focused worship. You must point people to the awesome, powerful, God of the universe.
Secondly, worship leaders who have achieved an excellence in their ministry through a vocal gifting will generally do well on American Idol because they have to command a performance-like atmosphere on a consistent basis for however many services they lead worship in.
So, having established those two principles, here is the point. Worship leaders have a charge and that is to attract the attention of the congregation and refocus that attention on God and His attributes in order to create a desire to worship the triune God. If I as a worship leader set foot on the stage at American Idol, I must treat that stage as an altar in the sanctuary of God’s house and I must look to create an atmosphere of worship. Just like people don’t always come to church to worship God, people in the audience of American Idol and the TV viewers aren’t looking to worship God. So, as a worship leader I must be transparent so thay when I worship they see God and not me. An easier way to understand is to say it like this: a cup doesn’t get the glory for what comes out of it, the creator of the beverage does. American Idol asks the singer to point to the cup and not the creator of the gifting in the cup.
So, why can’t I go and focus on Christ? American Idol has a certain set of songs that you are able to perform. This makes judging songs and your performance of them much easier. Ironically, none of these songs point to God. Therefore, as a worship leader I am forced to cover my light on stage because none of the songs allow me to pointthe focus to God. They bring focus to nothing and cause people to look at me for my gifting.
The best worship leaders create a worship experience in which they become transparent and only Christ can be seen. Yes, God requires excellence in our ministry and the improvement of our gift, but the moment that we use that gift to advance our own status and not His status, we become proud in His eyes. We should seek the favor of God and not the favor of men.