For too long, derivative, sub-par sonic garbage has been given a pass in the name of "praising God."  Because we live in a culture that is weak, insecure, and incapable of taking the criticism necessary for actual improvement in any given field, fake artists in every genre have been allowed to prosper, for no reason other than the fact that they're singing about God.  Whether it's a bunch of auto-tuned non-singers who think Kanye West is a genius, or an over-emotive gathering of whitebread Hillsong types who look like they've worn powerless smiles of false, struggle-free encouragement every time they've been photographed since they were 12 years old, people who have no business whatsoever praising God in song professionally have taken it on themselves to become nothing less than world leaders in the field.

The reason they have been given artistic immunity, supposedly, is that they are "praising God."

Technically, this is true.  Truly, it is not.

I am not dogmatic about it, but I have never believed that the God who created the Horsehead Nebula, the Mariana Trench, Mount Everest, and the moon, can truly be praised by people who aren't honest enough with themselves to admit that they have no artistic talent, while making a living "praising God" with an art form.

Yes, of course, I understand:  someone who can't sing but who is praising God with a true heart, in a spirit of true worship, someone who has no voice whatsoever, singing horribly at the top of their lungs to the glory of the Lord is FAR MORE BEAUTIFUL than any wonderful performance that revels in the scent of its own vocal fumes like a smug, demoniac pig.

I offer this beautiful video as a perfect example:

Unabashed, shameless, artless, beautiful.

Wonderful.

As an example of the opposite, I offer this difficult example:

It's a difficult example for one reason:  It is a true expression of worship.  It isn't fake Kanye genius, and it isn't Hillsong disingenuity-pop.  The guy is the real thing, and a legitimate Christian who has been greatly gifted with insight and an ability to explain things in the simplest-possible manner.  I have been following him on YouTube for awhile now, and have learned a lot from him and gained a lot of encouragement.  He is a spiritual heavyweight of the highest order.

So what's my problem?  

Is it jealousy?

Hahaha, a fair enough question, and one that will of course be instantly asked by everyone who reads this, but no.  Jealousy requires a desire to either be someone else, or not be yourself.  That has never been one of my problems, and I have always celebrated the promotion of people who are qualified and/or excellent in their field, whether I'm sleeping under a tree in the desert or not.

What bothers me is the humorless pretension and/or "presumption-of-serious-recording-artist" in the Marcus Rogers video.  Haly Ministries' video is obviously the YouTube equivalent of someone singing in the shower.  She is simultaneously exhilarated and embarrassed by feeling led by the Spirit to actually record herself "rapping" the song.  For this reason, it is true, and beautiful.

In total, direct, and absolute contrast, the Marcus Rogers video (and song) is professionally produced, edited, and even has an album cover.  And yet, he can't sing.  His vocal performance is auto-tuned, which, if you don't know, is always an indication that you're dealing with somebody who has no business presuming to sing into a microphone. 

The fact that it's ubiquitous in popular sound-file production today speaks volumes.

It isn't capable of making me jealous.

It makes me mad.

If iron sharpens iron (Proverbs 27:17), is it immoral to critique the so-called art of someone who is presuming to be taken seriously as an artist?

Or is it immoral to offer false, smiley-faced "encouragement" to people to continue down a path on which they might have no business whatsoever, to the universal weakening of us all?

(If they have to sing, write, and play, they will, regardless of anything you have ever said, good or bad.

If they don't, they won't).

God can elevate anyone, which is one of the reasons I'm not jealous.  If God likes it, I'm not going to get dogmatic about it.  If God gets some glory from this, I'm not against it, but understand:  if you want to make pretentious videos that presume to make you into a figurehead in a field in which you have no God-given talent whatsoever, understand that if God has "chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise" (1 Corinthians 1:27), that it is your foolishness that glorifies Him, not your pretension.

And before I sign off, did you feel a tinge of smug, haughty inner laughter at my use of the word "whitebread" when discussing "Hillsong types?"  Or did you malign me for being racist, and therefore intellectually inconsistent, like you should have done? (since I'm not a racist, which is a safe assumption when dealing with 99% of everybody).  If your smug, selectively-racist attitude about this tangential perma-issue has become your religion, that's your problem, but don't pretend to be anything less than a world-class hypocrite.

Wake up, America.  Or get off it, whichever comes first.  You will do both, before all is said and done.

Good luck.

*     *     *

Dear Marcus Rogers,

I can't listen to the song, but I can tell that there is beauty in it, the melody, the spirit, surely the words.  It's hard to listen through the glossy, fur-coat-on-a-pig overproduction, and I hope you understand the spirit from which my harsh, artistic criticism comes.  It isn't spiritual, it isn't demonic, it isn't jealous.  It's bored, and borne of a desire to see every single person in the world excel to God's glory at the gifts with which He has bestowed them.  Iron sharpens iron.  I'm tired of watching and listening to artless garbage that presumes to be professional art get a free pass because there's a cross on the album cover and the content is "Christian."  In your case, it certainly is truly Christian, but that doesn't make it art.  In most cases, it's neither Christian nor artistic.  Allow me to encourage you on a path of songwriting.  I gave up on singing at least 200 times before I became confident at it.  But I was called to pursue it.  The beginning will be rocky, for years, but if you are not called to improve your skills, I strongly suggest you put someone else on the mic, to perform your inspired & inspiring words, to God's eternal glory.

Thanks for considering it.

A faithful subscriber,

Nathan Payne