This message arrived in the enLighten mailbox a few days ago from, as he notes, a devoted listener:
I know I’m going to sound judgmental or legalistic (or some other derogatory term), but I wanted to express my opinion, for what it’s worth. I absolutely LOVE enLighten. I absolutely LOVE Southern Gospel music. However, I believe our music ought to be Scripturally accurate, as well as convey a true picture of Christ, Christians, and the Church. I have heard a couple of songs on enLighten that I do not believe fit these criteria. One of them, while a very catchy tune, starts off by putting down a preacher for preaching “fire and brimstone.” I’m sorry, but I believe there is way too little “fire and brimstone” preaching today. I agree with the basic premise of the song (“My God’s a Big God”), but I do not think we ought to include in our songs downplaying the very kind of convicting messages that have brought millions to Christ through the ages. Today’s preaching has become so watered down it has very little truth. One man said that the church has gone so far in its efforts to veer from “salvation by works” that it has created “salvation without obedience.” I think that is true. Another song that basically does the same thing talks about a young preacher who was upset that he could no longer preach the Ten Commandments, and was advised to “just preach Jesus.” If we TRULY preach Jesus, we will ALSO preach the Ten Commandments! After all, it was Jesus Who said, “If you love me, keep my commandments” (John 14:15). I thoroughly enjoy the vast majority of the songs I hear on your station. I just think we need to be a bit more selective in what we “endorse” by granting airplay.
Personally, I am not troubled by his criticism … as over the nearly 60 years that I’ve been involved in creating and making decisions regarding programming on radio, its letters and comments like this one that have opened my eyes to see that I’d not made the right decision or had veered off the proper track in some area. For the record, as of this writing, I’ve not gone to the library and pulled the CDs and listened to these two selections. At the moment, I cannot even remember who sings them.
My question to you is … in your opinion, is this listener being too nit-picky? Do you agree with him that every song we play should and needs to be solidly based on a Scriptural statement or instruction?
I have stated on the air a number of times over these nearly nine years that enLighten has been in existence that I want everything we present and is heard on the channel to be pleasing to the ears of our Lord … and if there is something we air that you as a listener feel would not be so to Him, please let us know. Without saying so directly, that’s what this gentleman is doing.
Related to this, in a note we received recently from Barb who lives in Freeport, Illinois, she made this statement: “For me it is about the song and the words. Often I don’t know who is singing or even the title of the song, but the words are another story!” In my own judgment, that is the most important criteria along with a quality performance of the song.
In closing, I will tell you there’s been at least a few cases where songs were obviously played on many Southern Gospel stations because they appeared on the Singing News chart that I chose not to play because I didn’t feel right about the message.
Now it’s your turn … let us read your thoughts or opinion on this subject … either via an Email or post on our enLighten FaceBook page.
Marlin
