Danny ChaiThere’s this interesting debate going on in Christian music circles involving some Michael W. Smith / Third Day tour being sponsored by Chevrolet. I think the problem is that it’s being advertised as a night of worship.
Steve Camp posted an open letter on his website. I don’t agree with all of it but I think he makes at least a couple valid points. One, not sure how right it is to charge for a time of worship. Seems odd. If it’s a concert, fine, but if you’re going to call it a time of worship, I dunno. Second, dunno how right it is to have a corporate sponsor for a worship time. Again, the problem I guess is with calling it a time of worship instead of a concert. Worship should be free and spiritual, not tied to profit and marketing. I think.
Anyway, a question he asks that I think is worth asking is whether worship has been turned into entertainment. So that people don’t naturally have a problem with treating a worship night as a concert or vice versa. I dunno, I think the line’s blurry and it’s weird. I’ve heard a couple Chris Tomlin worship recordings and it’s weird – he’ll play an intro and people start cheering wildly. What are they cheering for? God? Jesus? Based on the intro? I dunno, it seems to me like they’re cheering for the song, and that’s a weird concerty thing to do. It’s just confusing is all.