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From: theodulos@yahoo.com
Date: 8/21/01
Time: 2:40:34 PM
Remote Name: 208.145.16.195
Tough call. I'm sure that there are others that would disagree. Part of me wants to be inclusive and just hope that the Lord will convict them and change their heart. Another part of me knows that it's easy to hide from God in church. I also know that you can't effectively model worship when there's not connection with the Father. From where I am, I want musicians to be worship leaders and I want to be able to encourage our youth and my own children to emulate their example on and off the platform. I define "worship" as declaring what we value. Therefore, I don't want to promote idolatry by allowing self-worship, music-worship, event-worship, etc.
I guess that if the individual were a "seeker" then I'd want to find a way to stay connected with them, but I'm not sure we should allow "talent" to be the criteria for leadership. I occassionally here "Elvis fans" talking about how they enjoy his "gospel records". To the extent that the music contains spiritual truths God can use it for His purposes, however celebrating the music because it was Elvis "who sang it so beautifully" can promote compromise because his lifestyle was not reflective of the gospel that music proclaimed. My daughter sings beautifully, but I would not wish for her that path that he walked. Instead I wish for her the message of the song that George Beverly Shea sang so often during the Billy Graham crusades, "I'd rather have Jesus that silver or gold..." This is just my $0.02
Under His grace,
Jay