Another podcast that I'm enjoying is singer/songwriter Matthew West's podcast (with the catchiest theme song ever!).
I remember seeing major news outlets reporting about Jon Steingard, the lead singer from the Christian band Hawk Nelson saying that he didn't believe in God anymore. I recall rolling my eyes and thinking, "Well, I'm sure the media is loving the chance to cover this story." I read a little bit and then it fell off of my radar.
Well! Matthew West invited him on for an interview. They had been on tours in the past so they had developed a friendship.
Very very interesting. I actually took notes for the purpose of blogging about it. Just to be clear, I do not believe that he was truly in the church even when he was singing about God. Obey Acts 2:38 :o)
- Jon moved from Nashville, TN to Southern California This was a pivotal moment for him. Musicians in his world tend to all live and work in the Nashville area. This was him getting out his "bubble". There is nothing wrong with moving (within reason) but when you leave your sense of community, that could be dangerous.
- Christianity is hard to unlearn He said that even in the interviews that he is doing with atheists, he sometimes finds himself defending Christianity.
- The power of music/ chord progressions / inspiration / controlling a crowd You guys. Music is POWERFUL. If you enjoy music a lot, you are probably aware. If you sing/play an instrument in church, you definitely know. He speaks from a place of doing concerts and understanding how working the crowd the right way can illicit the desired response. This is why we emphasize asking God for His anointing when doing anything for God. An emotional response from the people won't do anything in the spirit.
- When he began to question his faith and was dealing with depression, he sought advice not from his pastor but from a therapist. Yikes.
- At the end of each episode, Matthew asks the guest to share the moment in their life when God was made real to them. Jon has never had that moment. This was really sad to me. He grew up in a pastor's home and has devout parents but had never gotten it for himself. I just thought of Matthew's song....
I don't wanna go through the motions
I don't wanna go one more day
Without Your all consuming passion inside of me
What is the point of living for God if we're not going all in (another song from Mr. West)? It's so sad to me. I look around my local church and see those whose fire looks so dead. Yes, there's always hope for these but wow, to get to that place of complacency makes us so susceptible of being led astray.
If you would like to listen to this, I've added the links below (it's in two parts).
Posts
4 comments:
I have to admit I had never heard of the group Hawk Nelson, so when the story came out it didn't mean a lot to me. But this sounds like a really interesting, honest discussion.
The first point is something Les could talk about. He moved from Nashville to Southern California for his first job after college. His pastor, Elder CM Becton, told him that people often lose their way when they move to California, there are so many distractions. But they worked together to find the right church and 33 years later Les is still here!
The final point about not getting it for himself is the issue. Without that personal experience (even one not completely grounded in Acts 2:38) there is just no way a person is going to stick.
Thanks for sharing!
Bro. Les is a great example! He made himself accountable and that ensured a smooth transition.
Hi Jen! I am an apostolic from California and occasionally read your blogs. I enjoy them! This post was very interesting. Especially when you mentioned his song lyrics. It’s crazy how he never got it for himself yet wrote those words and couldn’t relate. He needs a real Acts 2:38 experience with God! Anyways. Thanks for sharing. God bless :)
Hi Miranda, thanks for reading!! I so need to post again soon.
The song lyrics were actually from the show’s host who does profess to be a Christian, although he goes to a non-denominational church. I would love to see him get saved For Real as well!
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