It was the first day of second grade and I sat in my class eagerly waiting for all my classmates to arrive. New school year, new friends, new field trips, and new memories to be made during recess. After all, that’s what school is about, right…recess?…but, I digress. As kids came in one by one, I recognized many and met a few new kids. It was an exciting feeling. However; my best friend hadn’t arrived, and I knew class was going to soon begin. Every time the door opened, I would quickly turn to see if it was him. Kid after kid, but no sign of my best friend. I was most certain he was returning. My expectation began to slowly decrease within me. Class started, the day went by, then weeks, and then months. He never showed up. Turns out, he transferred to another school.
I went on to have a fun second grade. I had a lot of friends and even made a new best friend. What was once a sad feeling became simply a faint memory of a kid I use to know. My life went on, and it didn’t affect me any further until maybe after the first week of school. I guess maybe I really didn’t care.
There is this temptation in life to want to move on too soon. People we once knew become people we hardly remember. That initial sting of losing them becomes just a hiccup in our life that we vaguely remember.
Recently in CHH, 3 faith-based artists not only made the decision to leave the community, but chose to leave the faith in which the community is founded on. We all have felt the sting; because after all 3 individuals that had a platform, have publicly come out and said they no longer agree with what we agree. 3 people that used to proclaim the faith (we hold on to so loudly) now no longer cling to the very words they too believed. My fear though is that this will become a vague memory of someone who we use to “know” and now have just replaced.
I’m sure we all are full of opinions on the matter. It’s likely we all can manage to conjure up an argument to point fingers and criticize them and even those around them. Maybe we can make valid point after valid point and in all technicalities be right. The question is though, what will we as a community do once our opinion is heard? Will we continue to fight for their souls? Will we go on and just erase their music from our iTunes and just decide to pretend this never happened?
We are at a crossroads as a community. The grace and love we so boldly proclaim and love to hear in our music must now be shown. Not just in a blog post like this one, not just in a comment section on social media. In the everyday intersections of life, we must rise up and bear the Fruit of the Spirit we claim lives in us. It is time for serious discussion and serious action. Our community needs reform and we will only find it in Christ Himself. We must look to Christ for direction and guidance on how to not only reach those that have willingly given up their faith, but to also prepare for such things when they happen again.
I do not know any of the 3 artists. I have never met them nor talked to them. Neither have about 99% of the people that have made comments about them. These are individuals that at some point in their lives had to answer the question, “Do I still believe in this?” Haven’t we all been there? How then should we respond?
If you are an artist reading this, can I challenge you to surround yourself with Godly counsel? Let them lead you with their experience and submit yourself to even their rebuke. If you are, like me, just a fan of CHH; can we respond in grace and in prayer? Can we take it up to God and trust in His Sovereignty in the midst of this? Can we demonstrate the love we gladly receive yet find so hard to give?
By no means am I saying we should be tolerant of sin nor of degrading the name of our Lord. We shall defend it as scriptures teach us. However, there is breath in these individuals’ lungs. That tells me that God is not done with them. Neither should we be.
Galatians 6:1 (ESV) reads, “Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted”
Grace and Peace
Soli Deo Gloria
