keeping up with the jones'...

I had another conversation with a friend the other day, about how it struck me the other day how we are constantly trying to keep up with culture instead of engaging it. We make christian movies that "counter the filth in hollywood", we make music as an "alternative" to the mainstream music. We make t-shirts with slogans taken from big clothing companies, and replace half the words to make them 'christian". And what I want to know is...why? Why do we feel the need to counter the culture and why are we not leading it?

I was doing some research for an upcoming article for the magazine I write for yesterday. And one of the new bands I read about was touted as "the next hannah Montana". And then I heard them, and for the first thing, they don't even sound like Miley Cyrus. They might be in the same age bracket as her, but sound-wise they are not even close. And it just confuses me that they have to be advertised as the "next Hannah" to sell records when they should be able to sell records simply by being GOOD SINGERS! They won't be the next pint-size blonde billionaire, but they can excel in the industry by being quality musicians, by being really great singers..who just happen to sing about Jesus. Or maybe some bands, like the Fray, dont even sing about Jesus, but they sing music that is uplifting and well-done, and people recognize it for what it is: good music, made by Christians.

We need to stop reaching for the bar, and start setting it.