Congratulations Kris Allen! I hope you are not "bound" by the impending idolatry of your moments and dreams. And I hope you are not forever bound to sing terrible songs written by other people.
Can anyone confirm that Kris Allen is (or was) a worship leader? I also heard that Danny Gokey and Matt Giraud are (were) worship leaders.
My wife cried when Kris held his wife at the end. I was folding the laundry.
11 comments
Comment by Betsy A on May 21, 2009 at 8:58 AM
I know I heard on NPR this AM that he was a missionary. I was going to look it up myself today! I'll let you know what I find...
and I cried too. It was moving...far more moving than laundry!
Comment by Betsy A on May 21, 2009 at 9:02 AM
Good 'ole Wikipedia!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kris_allen
Yes - he is a worship leader.
Comment by Dixie Sargent Redmond on May 21, 2009 at 12:07 PM
Your sarcasm is showing.
I have no interest in Kris Allen but I find the tone of your comments troubling. I wonder why that is? I'll have to think about it.
There is as much idolatry within the church as outside it, imo. Maybe more.
Dixie
Comment by Ryan on May 21, 2009 at 2:40 PM
Dixie,
Please read no sarcasm into my comments. I sincerely congratulate Kris Allen, and I do have an interest in him. My comments are actually a prayer of hope that he will not fall into the irony of his hit single "No Boundaries".
The song is not good. It is full of selfish ambition and man-centeredness (always indicated by the flippant usage of the words "moment" and "dreams"). If Kris indeed is a worship leader and a follower of Jesus, I pray he stays strong in the Lord and does not truly mean what he sings when he sings that lousy song hundreds of times over the next year.
Again, there is no sarcasm in these words.
Ryan
Comment by extra fox on May 21, 2009 at 3:01 PM
Ya, Wiki says:
"Allen is a devout Christian. He was a worship leader at New Life Church in Maumelle, Arkansas, as well as at the Chi Alpha campus ministry of the University of Central Arkansas, where he was a business major. He has done missionary work around the world, including in Burma, Morocco, Mozambique, South Africa, Spain and Thailand.
Comment by derek from kc on May 21, 2009 at 11:37 PM
(as a continuation of your quote at the top of the page)..."and may your tribe of idolized christian pop stars decrease like ice cubes in the Sahara."
Comment by Ryan on May 22, 2009 at 8:14 AM
Derek,
Nice, but please remove the possessive pronoun "your" in your quote, and replace it with the indefinite article "the".
Read: "and may the tribe of idolized christian pop stars decrease..."
I would hate to be classified as a worship rock idol, much less would I like to melt in the Sahara.
Ryan
Comment by derek on May 23, 2009 at 4:23 PM
Ah yes, very much agreed. I think I meant the "your" more generally, assuming that perhaps the quote be directed to the broader Church as a whole. As in, 'hey church, may your tribe of theologically literate increase, and your tribe of idols drastically decrease.'
I can understand; I also wish not to be included in glamorized rockstar worship fest. Many a blessings to ya.
Comment by Dan Wilt on June 2, 2009 at 9:28 AM
On the other hand, define "hero" and "role model" in contradistinction to "idol."
Is it only worship leaders you mind having visibility and influence (maybe credibility and authority), that places them in such roles?
Or would you say the same about anyone who has become visible and possibly graced through their craft? Or is the people who listen and emulate that go too far?
Business leaders who are Christians? Should we suggest they all melt as well?
All movie actors and actresses? How about anyone "successful in their field?"
No, wait. Anyone who does something related to their faith, and makes a 'substantial' income at it. Yeah, they're the issue. Wait, ANYONE who's a rock star – the whole thing can't be good.
Yes, that was sarcastic - sorry, had to give it some air.
The cult of celebrity is toxic. Agreed. We shake hands. Hi-5.
However, the anti-cult, especially when simply targeted to one creative division of labor in the faith community, blurs the line between what man raises and what God raises.
44 years into my life, it just ain't that simple. You don't most of their story. Do you know what their hidden lives are like?
On Wednesday, however, I'll agree with your statement above, Derek from kc, and will find no fault in it.
Ryan, as for Man being the Subject of the sentence in any context, without being contextualized as the Object of God's action as the Subject first – is always the human problem. Good thoughts.
With friendship spoken.
Comment by Dan Wilt on June 2, 2009 at 9:30 AM
Sorry for all the typos above - it's been a hard day!
Comment by Ryan on June 2, 2009 at 12:00 PM
Apology accepted.
Speaking of grammar, I meant "idol" as "idol". (Does the period come before or after the quotation mark?)
I suppose it is not the problem of the rock star (Christian or otherwise) if someone idolizes them.
Kris is a hero to me, not an idol. Many others are heroes to me (Christians and otherwise); Those whose faith I want to emulate, and those from whose creativity and abilities I can glean and at whom I gawk.
Thanks for joining us and sharing your thoughts.