I have a couple other blogs, but one has been neglected and the other...well, it's not been well taken care of either. I've never been one to keep up with my journals. If you look thru the annals of my life, you'll see many journals started, but never really finished. Could be because my mind works in a way that is unusual or because of moving a lot as a child that so many journals got misplaced or I forgot to unpack.
Using the internet as a journal is, in my mind, still a new and unusual idea that I love. No more tired fingers or inability to read what I wrote...since my writing tends to follow along the line with my mood. The smaller the writing...the more content I am. The bigger the writing...the more angry I am. Anything in between...that could be so many different moods.
But, I am determined to use this blog for something different. Maybe try to "start anew" so to speak.
Starting now.
Hopefully, what I see in my mind will come out in this entry...in this journal.
At church, we finished up the series "Reimaging Evangilism" yesterday. It got me thinking. There were four guys in the 80s that reimagined evangalism long before Rick Richardson wrote the book.
Heavy metal was prominent in the late 70s and 80s. Groups like Led Zepplin, Aerosmith, Def Leppard, Black Sabbath, AC/DC, and Judas Priest were rocking the radios. For the most part, I enjoyed their music. Def Leppard, by far, was my favorite.
But, as we sat in our small groups, discussing how to reach out to people who may not want to hear the gospel or don't want to hear the gospel as it is usually presented. Somehow, we got on the subject of music and how it played into evangilism...the whole idea of if it's presented in a different way, people will listen.
Rick Richardson wrote a good book on reimagining how to witness to others, but he was not the first person to think of that idea.
How, you ask, does heavy metal music and evangilism play in to each other?
Remember...I did mention the 1980s...when Stryper was in their prime (so to speak).
These four California dudes felt the Lord guide them to not only do what they loved (music. I'm assuming that they loved metal more than any other music) but let God direct them down the path. Long before Rick Richardson wrote a book, asking us to reimagine evanglism, Stryper was already reimagining it.
During the 1980s, Stryper was big in the world of main stream heavy metal. They were played on main stream radio. Few, if any, so called "Christian stations" would play their music. They were always in the Top 10 videos on MTV (Back when MTV ACTUALLY PLAYED videos). They were a metal machine unto themselves. They constantly sold out tours and heavy metal enthusiasts were excited when a new Stryper record was released.
People who listened to AC/DC also listened to Stryper (Okay...may not all...I'm sure there were a few who didn't). Kids at school, kids who didn't go to church and whose parents didn't go either, were excited about the new release...the new poster...the new shirt.
They had their critics. Most Christians didn't understand. They would say that they were using God for a profit.
God blessed Michael, Robert, Tim, and Oz because they followed His Heart and His Lead.
There were stories about groupies who went to the hotel, with intentions of seducing the four good looking heavy metal singers, and were instead presented with the gospel, and Stryper's own personal testimonies.
They threw bibles into the crowd at concerts (they understood they had fans who were not Christian) in order to get God's word out there (Note to Robert Sweet: You nearly took my head off at one concert. It wasn't like I was in the front row. I was in "nose-bleed" section, three or four rows from the back. You may have missed a calling to be a major league pitcher. Strong arm!)
Yes, Stryper had long hair and wore make up. They wore clothes that were definately heavy metal (tight pants, ripped jeans, etc...)
But, they reimagined evanglism (I'm going to hit this point a lot) by looking like a real heavy metal group. If you haven't heard any Stryper song, go to Youtube and look them up. They were real heavy metal. Michael Sweet, the lead singer of the group, had vocals that went on for days and he could hit some ungodly notes.
When the four of them finally get to go home to the Lord, they will (I imagine) be sent into a "room" where they will be surrounded by people. They will hit their knees and cry when they realize that the thousands, if not millions, of people standing around them are there because of them; because Michael, Tim, Robert, and Oz listened to the call of God and, despite the obstacles they faced, followed.
And, I will be among those standing in that room.
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