Do you remember Victoria Jackson, the quirky, blond comedian on Saturday Night Live from 1986-1992? She’s a Christian who recently said that fellow SNL alum Norm MacDonald turned to Christ before dying of cancer 5 years ago. After his death, she heard from a friend who attends church in Bel Air, California, that Norm was watching their weekly service, & apparently called the minister to ask how to be saved. He prayed over the phone to receive Christ, but that’s all that’s known.
Our church hosted Victoria back in 2005 for a sold-out comedy show before a few hundred people in our smaller first-phase auditorium. I picked her up at the airport & we chatted awhile. I found her to be very sweet & sincere. During her performance, she told of how God used her as a witness in the entertainment world. She gave out the Bible on cassette to her castmates & shared her faith with people like Johnny Carson.
When we built our second-phase, much larger auditorium, we purposely made the platform large so that we could continue to host Christian bands & comedians as an outreach to the community. In our original auditorium, we’d have concerts by Todd Agnew (“Grace Like Rain”), BarlowGirl, Sarah Masen, & a few other lesser-known bands for the teens. We opened the current auditorium with packed back-to-back concerts by the parody band Apologetix, & American Idol finalist George Huff. We hosted rockers: Disciple, Family Force 5, Decypher Down, Fireflight, & Stellar Kart. We later had singer Jadon Lavik, comedy ventriloquist Taylor Mason, powerlifting team “Sons of Thunder,” Keith Conner for the kids, the Robbie Seay Band, & finally Sanctus Real for Southpoint’s 25th anniversary in 2017.
You may wonder why we don’t do those kinds of events anymore. For one thing, they don’t accomplish the kind of outreach we’d hoped. Though they provide opportunities to invite unchurched people, it more often just ends up drawing people from other churches. For another thing, it takes a lot of effort to pull off events like that. So if we’re not really reaching those who need Christ, do we need to do it? Sure, it can be inspirational & wholesome alternative entertainment for Christians, but are there better things we could devote our efforts to?
A third reason we don’t host such events anymore is that any performer who would be well-known enough to draw unchurched people costs many thousands of dollars. The ones we could afford, no one really knows. Yes, we could charge high ticket prices to cover costs, but I really don’t like charging for anything to do with church. I’m not necessarily opposed to it–I’ve been to such events at other churches–but it’s disheartening to see how much major artists charge to perform in church venues.
I’ll also say that recent years have exposed some of the darkness in the Christian entertainment business. We’ve always known of the darkness in the secular industry, but it’s been surprising to see it even among Christian “celebrities.” When I was a radio DJ at a Christian station in the early 80’s, it seemed things were simpler & purer then. I attended several concerts, & even got to introduce a band on stage one time. But when Christian music began to cross over & make serious money, corruption crept in as secular companies bought up the Christian companies as subsidiaries. You can now pay a lot for tickets to “Christian shows” & pay even more for special VIP treatment & artist meet-&-greets.
One of the popular & influential singers of the 80’s & 90’s was Rich Mullins (“Awesome God” & “Step by Step”) before he was prematurely killed in a car crash. He attended my alma mater, Cincinnati Bible College, before I arrived there. My slightly older roommate had drummed for him for a short while. Rich had his personal shortcomings, but he seemed deeply devoted to the Lord, challenging Christians to pursue authentic faith & sacrificial discipleship. Even in the 90s, Rich was warning about the Contemporary Christian Music (CCM) industry.
In one online video clip, Rich said: “…It always scares me when I talk to you guys, and you guys think so highly of Christian music–contemporary Christian music especially–because I kind of go, man, I know a lot of us [artists], and we don’t know jack about anything. Not that I don’t want you to buy our records [laughter] or come to our concerts, I sure do. But you should come for entertainment. If you really want spiritual nourishment, you should go to church. Those people care about you. And you don’t have to buy a ticket.”
In another clip, he says, “…People expect Christian musicians to take the place of pastors &…to be instructing kids on how to live & all that. …The Christian music industry is a capitalistic endeavor, period. And if anyone is interested in spiritual vitality, they need to invest themselves in the church, not in an industry. …That’s why you have a bunch of Christian musicians saying a bunch of religious stuff that they don’t really mean, because you guys demanded it of them, & they’re dumb enough to play along.”
John Cooper, lead singer of the Christian rock band Skillet, has also been critical & believes parts of the industry have drifted toward celebrity & cultural approval rather than biblical faithfulness. Many performers start out sincerely serving the Lord, but drift as their fame & income grow, even feeling they can’t get out of the “industry” because it would mean the loss of that income. It’s become disillusioning to see performers who have “deconstructed” their faith, been involved in scandalous behaviors, or affirmed sexual immorality. Some comedians & actors use profanity & vulgarity openly. Others have serious theological problems.
Many more performers are wonderful, scandal-free people. But we have to guard our hearts & churches. When we turn entertainers into role models, & turn churches into entertainment venues, concerts can be labeled as worship, & worship services can be more like concerts. Just be discerning & test everything (1 Thess. 5:21-22). Are they walking the walk? Victoria Jackson is, like Norm was, seriously ill with advanced cancer. She has maintained a track record of strong Christian faith & values. May God grant that she lives a long time & that more would follow in her footsteps.