Explorations in Christian Pop-Culture: An Introduction

I was privileged (read: burdened) as a child to grow up in such a dominant subculture… one so powerful, there really wasn’t anything “sub” about it. I’m told there still are some parts of America untouched by the long hand of mega-churches, youth group extravaganzas and dare I say it, Contemporary Christian Music. I have a hard time believing that these places remain shielded from such an abrasive cultural group because even the most basic of cable televisions cannot hide from the most relentless of televangelists.

I’m not bitter. I’m ashamed.

Not because of my faith. I have grown up with Jesus and still pursue him every waking hour but the culture associated with my Lord and Savior has continuously been a source of embarrassment. I do not say this with contempt or notions of malice… but actual embarrassment similar to that of a adolescent and his goofy father. All of those times where Christianity has been accurately “mis”-represented in America sits as a testament of the many imperfections of my religion of choice.

Perhaps, I’m making this too heavy for a blog. I’m not trying to talk politics here, I’m just trying to reconcile where my culture and my subculture awkwardly collide in the most ugly of ways… and the most entertaining of ways to tackle such a subject is to look at the “happy-go-lucky” world of pop-culture.

I’m going to call it “Explorations in Christian Pop-Culture” in an attempt to explain, confess and understand my subcultures embarrassing, but sometimes triumphant, forays into making neighbors with secular culture and why most of the time, it just tries to pull down the blinds and hide.

I’ll look at everything from Michael W. Smith to Petra to Passion Worship Music to Skateboard Ministries. This isn’t theology, this isn’t politics, this is pop-culture… the only thing I feel qualified to write about.