My Problem With Pop

Awhile back, in a dorm room in Beloit, my friend coined a new term as we rehearsed for worship at InterVarsity the next evening. He said, "You are such a Jesus hipster"

What he meant by it, was that I listen to a lot of lesser-known Christian music. I know all about Matthew West, Casting Crowns, Mercy Me, and the likes, but you're much more likely to catch me listening to Kari Jobe, 16 Cities, Jesus Culture, Gateway, Bryan and Katie Torwalt, or Bethel Church. It's the truth. 

I like a lot of the pop songs alright. They're fine, some of them even quite good. But I have a problem. Often they're not very personally worshipful, or even all that meaningful for me. They are crafted, that are cleverly designed for mass appeal. When a song is written to appeal to everyone, the impact it has on me individually is less. I think where the mistake happens is that instead of a writer writing a very personal song for himself, he writes what he thinks we want to hear, or what his producers want to hear.  But it's possible to have a good pop song. Sweetly Broken by Jeremy Riddle was picked up all over the place on the radio, but it comes from Jeremy's own experiences, and is thus more relatable. I wasn't Jeremy Camp's biggest fan until I read his book and learned a lot more about his life and where his music comes from. Look at the secular artist Taylor Swift - she writes about her own life in specific detail, and that's exactly why her music resonates with her fan base. 

Then there's the worship aspect. I like worship music. That's an understatement. Regardless, I do. I recognize that it's better for me, and I love loving the Lord. Which is why "popular" worship music sometimes feels too commercial. I've learned about leading worship over the last year or so, and one of the most important things is to remember you're there to worship too. If you concern yourself over everyone in the room having the best worship experience possible, it becomes about the performance and not about Christ. But you come and bow before the throne, if you sit at the feet of the cross, the Holy Spirit's presence will completely consume the room. So then, the music is not necessarily about the music or the words, but the attitude brought to it. If you sing the B-I-B-L-E with a spirit of pure worship, it can be a beautiful thing. You can sing the Old Rugged Cross without worshiping, and everyone then suffers. 

Babble babble babble. This is what happens when I make a genius playlist to a Christian pop song and end up having to switch to Bethel because it was about to make me gag.