Ingrid Misses the Point... Again

It seems Ingrid over at Christian Research Net is all worked up over an email she received today from the father-in-law of one of the American Idol contestants, who also happens to be a pastor. In true CRN fashion, he can't be a true Christian because the world approves of him. Chris at Fishing the Abyss/CRN.Info has written some insightful posts about this very subject, which I encourage you to read.

The summary of Ingrid's arguement seems to be that because Phil Stacey (the contestant in question) is seeking success in the entertainment realm, he can't be a "true Christian" because the Bible says that if we are true believers, we will be persecuted. Apparently she's gotten the impression that the music business is easy. Not only that, she apparently doesn't understand that when Christ came to the earth, He went to where the people were; the synagogues, the marketplaces, the city gates, etc., and spoke to them in words they could understand. Not only that, there are multiple admonishments in the New Testament for us to encourage each other; two that leap to mind are Jude 20 and Ephesians 4:29. So what does this have to do with American Idol? Quite simply, Phil is trying to influence the culture around him, which, whether or not Ingrid and company like it, is exactly what Christ did. We are not called to hole up in our churches and our homes; we are called to be a light to a dark world, a "city on a hill" as Jesus said it in the book of Matthew. Phil is doing exactly that, and I say more power to him.

For the record, I have not been watching American Idol this season; I'm just not home to watch much TV to begin with anymore, and the stuff I record on the DVR is plenty for me to keep up with.