September 17, 2005
Great Band, Silly Statement
I came across a great Christian band the other day. Ceili Rain (pr. kay-lee). 
They're a thoughtful, fun Celtic-y, alt-folk-rock group that makes me smile when I listen to them.
Only don't call them "Christian." When they write or speak, they fall over overthemselves trying to avoid being labeled as a Jesus band...as in this interview at ChristianMusic.com:
"Our spiritual songs are not heavy-handed. They're not religious in a 'born again,' in-your-face way. The worst feeling you can give someone is that they're being preached at. We let the songs do the talking. There is spiritual content if you care to hear it but we don't shove it down people's throats." (emphasis added)
I know I'm just being cranky. And I completely understand and emphathize with not wanting to be pigeon-holed in the Christian ghetto when you're called to reach a wider audience... but is it really true that "the worst feeling you can give someone is that they're being preached at?"
I tend to think that the worst feeling you can give someone is that they're being shot at.
In fact, I can think of ten thousand verbal messages one could deliver that would make someone feel worse than hearing, "God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life," as traumatizing as that might be.
How about, "Mrs. Jamil, our Great Leader Saddam has ordered that your husband be fed feet-first into this plastic shredder-recycler while you are forced to watch. But you'll be relieved to know you won't be hearing from anyone at Campus Crusade. Have a nice day!"
Okay, I'm over-reacting. These guys are really good and you should give them a listen. I wish them all the best. I'm just a little weary of hearing people apologize for having the best news anyone could possibly ever hear (the gospel) and having people act, in the words of the Newsboys, "like we're spreadin' some kind of disease."
That's all I'm saying.