How to celebrate our world

I don't like 'Christian music.'

I put it in quotations because I don't think there is a such thing as Christian music. A lot of people call certain stuff 'Christian music,' but I don't think there is any kind of music that has a special claim to being Christian. Sure, some artists give a shout-out to God a little more directly than others, but that doesn't mean it's any more Christian than other stuff. It just means they're trying to tap into an existing wealth of 'good' Christians who listen to 'good' music, and by doing so relegate themselves to specific record store sections and radio stations.

But the music we have defined as 'Christian,' to me, too often forgets that you don't have to just regurgitate worship songs to really celebrate God, and you don't have to beat a dead horse by making it all sound the same. We don't need every song to be, 'God is great, God is good.'

Sometimes we can celebrate God simply by suggesting their is hope in this beautiful world, and by crafting beautiful, unique music to support that message. And that's why I love 'secular music.' I find that 'secular music' often celebrates life more than 'Christian music' by creating songs that remind you how wonderful God's creation is.

Mind you, I don't think it's wrong to listen to 'Christian music.' And I don't believe that all 'secular music' is good. I just find that I can worship God more through 'secular' music than I can through 'Christian.' And I think that Christians too often believe that 'secular music' is from the devil, or that the only music that is worthy is the stuff they've been told is 'Christian.'

So, that being said, here are some of my favorite 'secular' records that offer a message of hope - records through which I find myself connecting with God more than I ever could through any 'Christian' record:

- Michigan by Sufjan Stevens
- Seven Swans by Sufjan Stevens
- Cease to Begin by Band of Horses
- Joshua Tree by U2
- Emotionalism by The Avett Brothers
- Legend by Bob Marley
- A Rush of Blood to the Head by Coldplay

There are more that belong on this list, but for now, this is what I've come up with. These albums are full of hope but also love, beauty, justice, glory, and redemption, and celebrate God even if they don't always credit him directly.

I'll dwell on this topic more in the near future, because I know there is a lot that I'm missing. These are just my thoughts right now. I want to close, though, with the lyrics of a song by Sufjan Stevens. Stevens is, as many folks know, my favorite artist, because he creates songs that are immense and powerful even when they are gentle and vulnerable. He uses entire orchestras of instruments to celebrate life, but his music does not blatantly say, "Hey God, you rock." Rather, Stevens explores the beauties of life through mostly ambiguous messages, because he is trying his best to explain God's glory in the most humanly way possible.

"I'd swim across lake Michigan
I'd sell my shoes
I'd give my body to be back again
In the rest of the room

To be alone with you
To be alone with you
To be alone with you
To be alone with you

You gave your body to the lonely
They took your clothes
You gave up a wife and a family
You gave your goals

To be alone with me
To be alone with me
To be alone with me
You went up on a tree

To be alone with me you went up on the tree

I'll never know the man who loved me."

- To Be Alone With You