First of all, that title is a bit misleading. I do love classical music, all the way back to Renaissance music through the Baroque, Classical, and Romantic eras. But I also love jazz, pop, rock, and country. I’ve never been a “this is the only music worth listening to” kind of guy. But heavy metal has never been my thing. On my radio, I have pre-sets for all of the above except heavy metal and hip-hop. But I found something profound at my first heavy metal concert. I found Christ being glorified.
For those of us who attended the Seventh Day Slumber concert on Sunday night, July 26, the concert was amazing. It started with our praise band, followed by Magdalene Rose. Then Seventh Day Slumber came out with a few praise songs, but then went into some of their own material. It was all loud, incredibly so, but also full of energy, and with the lights and video, rather theatrical. It was great.
But what really was neat was the testimonies from Magdalene Rose and the lead singer from Seventh Day Slumber, Joseph Rojas. Their stories of freedom from addiction were inspiring, life-changing. Joseph Rojas especially noted his full-out commitment to Christ – turning down a lucrative record deal that would have required them to water down their lyrics to be more commercial instead of Christian. They have a strong ministry to a unique sub-culture, and God is using them.
Paul says something curious in I Corinthians 9:22b: I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some. He was talking about cultural issues, not the gospel – his commitment to sound doctrine never wavered. But when it came to cultural aspects, like externals of keeping or not keeping certain aspects of the dietary laws of Moses, he was willing to be completely flexible in order to open doors to the gospel to both Jews and Gentiles.
When I was young, that flexibility didn’t exist in the church. My dad (yes, I’m a pastor’s kid) was approached by Christian rock band in the early 70’s who wanted to use our church parking lot for a concert. That was an immediate “no” from his church board and him. But we have a great group of elders here at Cascades who put Christ ahead of our culture as a church. These artists may not be our cup of tea, but their experiences and their music and dress give them an entry into a subculture that needs Christ too.
I almost wrote, “maybe more than others.” That’s nonsense. Everyone needs Christ equally, because everyone is equally a sinner. But I would point out the subculture of the grunge, heavy-metal world is in a greater risk because of the drug addictions, cutting, and sexual perversions, that greatly increase the chances of death, especially by suicide. Here is a segment of our society that is often in great pain and enslavement, and Magdalene Rose and Seventh Day Slumber are reaching them.
But perhaps the thing that inspired me the most at the concert were older Christians, whose background and habits and culture are the farthest thing from the world of Seventh Day Slumber. To those who fit that category, but came out that Sunday night, I am so impressed with your commitment to Christ. You visibly stepped out of your comfort zone to support the gospel, to support a ministry far from your culture, that was as big of a gap as first century Jew Philip taking the gospel to Samaritans (Acts 8) or Peter going to the gentile centurion Cornelius (Acts 10). And for all of you who prayed for this ministry that Sunday, God bless you.
Let this event be a challenge to us all. Where are you stepping out of your comfort zone for the cause of Christ? It could be across an ocean, but more likely, just across the driveway or street. Where are you willing to put yourself at risk, socially or emotionally or financially, for the gospel?
On another note, there is still so much judging going on in many churches. I don’t think Cascades is this way, but many churches have cancelled Magdalene Rose concerts when they realized what she looked like and what she sounded like. She alluded to that at the concert; she mentioned pointedly that she wanted us to know that despite appearances, they were just people that loved Jesus. Jesus told us to watch out for wolves in sheep’s clothing; by their fruits you will know them.” Jesus meant you can’t judge by appearances, but by the results you see in a person’s life. It can cut both ways – people who seem to on the “up and up” but bad things flow from them; people who look out of keeping with our ways, but are changing lives through proclaiming the gospel. Let’s not leap to judgement, but instead discern with God’s eyes.
This week is the 1613 Men’s Conference, on Friday and Saturday. If you say that a two-day conference isn’t your thing, go back and reread this article. If you’re coming, that’s great. If you can’t, that’s understandable. But let’s all do this one thing: pray. Pray for everyone that’s attending that God will challenge and teach and change lives. Pray that men will let the Holy Spirit speak into their lives. Pray that men will take what they learn and share it others. Let’s pray for God to use this event in a powerful way for men across this nation. We all need to pray.
Written By: Tim Barsuhn
