REAL ANSWERS TO REAL QUESTIONS - THE MUSIC INDUSTRY

Good day peeps!

I'm sure you are all doing great.

So...I read the articles of Leke Alder& Min. Nathaniel Bassey on the issue of how wrong or how right it is to have a non-gospel artiste minister on a Church platform? Great articles I must say. 

Close your eyes and imagine that scenario in the days of old, right on the altar.........lol, scary yea! These might be the days of the New Covenant, the days of grace and GOD might seem extremely patient with us but He can't be mocked. Selah!

So my MD-Sir Tush of life *winks* has this to say on that issue.

Waaaaaaaaaaiiiiiiiiiittttttttt.....*smiling*

Before you read this......Chill, no rushing biko

Whether you are of Sir Paul, Sir Apollos, Sir Leke, Sir Nathaniel or Sir Tush.....

I beg you....don't read with a jaku-jaku mindset; read with an open mind. It is only with an open mind that we learn new things. You never can tell....

Give it up for the best MD ever!!!

A lawyer accosted me after service and said, ''Tush, as a major stakeholder in the Music industry, what is your take on Non-Gospel artists ministering on a church or Gospel platform. He really desired to hear my views personally and also on social media as he felt my writings have inspired many but I had never spoken in this direction. This is a very sensitive line to tour and I realize that. But I will try over the next few days and weeks to bring a balanced view on these matters. I will be shedding light on the purpose of the Christian in the MUSIC INDUSTRY and many other critical issues. 

This is not about being judgmental. It’s not about a war between Gospel and Secular Music- a term I funnily detest. I usually prefer to use the term Godly and Ungodly Music. I do so because I believe God can call a Christian to do music that isn't your normal Sunday church song. It may be singing love songs, patriotic songs about country or songs calling for social justice or even folklore and songs about culture through purely cultural music. Even performing party songs is a ministry. Because we need songs to groove to at parties that won’t contaminate our spirits or contain words that will know doesn't EDIFY. Until recently this has become a rare thing to achieve.

But the limit is, these songs must never violate scripture or be against godly values. People must see God and Jesus in you at the end. For these set of people, most people might not classify you as a Gospel artist but till then, I will call you a Christian doing Godly music. So I have established that a Christian can be CALLED to do music which may not fit into the 'CONVENTIONAL' Sunday Repertoire but has its purpose. But the world must SEE JESUS through you. If all they see is how successful you have become or how TALENTED AND GIFTED you are and it stops there, am sorry to say you have failed as far as Heavens Agenda is concerned. 

Many think that the role of a Christian is secluded to the 4 walls of the church alone- that’s what they call Music Ministry. But Music Ministry is beyond the church. It extends to THE INDUSTRY as whole and I will be bringing insight and empowerment, through asking and answering random but pertinent questions to help believers discover their rightful place and the proper way of doing things. 

For anything people want to do, they have devised a way of finding a suitable scripture to justify it. But let me ask you a question, why would you not want the trumpet to sound and meet you playing or listening to some kinds of songs. Or why would your pastor enter your house and you suddenly change channels? If you knew you had 7 more days before the world ends and you go to heaven what will YOUR PLAYLIST look like? Answer that and mark the script.

Let me start by saying there are many ways we can mix and influence the world of music beyond the church. We are LIGHTS and we have been called to INFLUENCE. If our music and 'Music Ministry' isn't influencing the world, then we are WRONG. If what we are experiencing is the 'world'- which refers to ways and manner of doing things that is not Kingdom in nature or that doesn't represent the VALUES OF GOD'S KINGDOM OR OUR HEAVENLY KINGDOM as you may call it, then we are WRONG. 

It is WRONG for a Church to bring a non-gospel artiste to 'minister' in church. Folks please understand - It’s not about the song, the genre or the sounds of the music. There are good songs that have been performed by artistes that are not church folks. You may listen to music that isn't churchy as long as the message of the music isn't against God's principles and doesn't violate scriptures and WONT CONTAMINATE YOUR SPIRIT. Because EVERY WORK OF ART CARRIES A SPIRIT- and that’s not some Religious Hocus Pocus.So to increase in your spiritual sensitivity, power, efficiency and Anointing. THERE ARE SOME THINGS WHICH ARE GOOD BUT NOT GOOD FOR YOU. THEY MAY NOT BE BAD, BUT THEY ARE BAD FOR YOU-This is one thing many don't realize. If that artiste doesn't represent God's kingdom, you are not supposed to bring such an artiste to feed God's sheep which He has saddled you with the responsibility of tending. This is beyond the song. Bringing such an artiste to your altar speaks a million languages. 

One of them is that you are telling the world you are in support of that artiste and whatever he or she does. You are also saying you support what that artiste represents. It means you are in support of the culture that the artiste represents. Even if an artiste is supposedly 'a Christian', we have to consider what culture they represent. I have seen artistes who go to church every Sunday and say they are Christians but go back and start singing vulgar songs and songs that inspire and stir people to do wrong things that are against God's will. YOUR SONGS MUST STIR PEOPLE TO RIGHT LIVING

How do you want to tell your church audience not to listen to ungodly music when you have already brought that same artiste to your church? A musician may do a song of praise to God or love song or a motivational song and you may like it. But that same artiste still goes ahead to do songs that support premarital sex, talks about raw sexual events and uses vulgar words, supports clubbing and ungodly life style. Obviously you may love that singular song that is OK but you CANNOT bring such to church to minister. The altar of a church isn't just a chunk size of rug laid on wood with bright lights and smoke surrounding it. It’s a platform of influence. Anyone you share your altar with you are giving the person permission to influence the minds, spirits, and culture of your people. People don't just follow what you say or sing they follow your lifestyle and what you represent. And it will get to a level; you will no longer have control over how far that influence can go.

That is why am Totally against church having a mentoring or inspirational session for church members or young people and then you bring someone who is, though successful, not in Christ or doesn't have a lifestyle you want the audience to totally emulate or Kingdom lifestyle and Belief system. Yes, I agree that Success principles are general. You can personally be inspired by such people and can study positive things in their lives that brought the result. There are gospel artistes who inspire me but there are also non-gospel artistes who are inspiring to me because of their work ethic, excellence and drive. But you have to be mature enough to put a dividing line between the principles of success of that individual and the things from them that you can’t copy. Now that's where the problem is, many people in the church audience can’t put that dividing line. 

You invite a non-gospel artist to perform a good song in your church or to speak and 'inspire' your church. This same artist does other songs where she wears bikinis, engages in sexual orgies on screen, smokes, ogles naked or half naked men and women, sing songs with words that the message is against the bible- What do you do. Many people in our church audience aren't mature enough to separate things. So you can’t come tomorrow and speak against those things because by inviting them you are saying you affirm them. 

Unconsciously young people, most of whom have feeble minds, will start living like well, since XYZ is successful, famous and is a role model and my church even invited him/her, I can do whatever he/she does. May be it’s not so wrong to be a lil nude or dress like that, maybe it’s not so bad to have a child out of wedlock, that’s how this or that artiste or celebrity lives. I’m not talking about a situation in which the artiste has made mistakes in the past. Am talking about someone who is currently this kind of life and even celebrates it

On a professional level, what do we need that we don't have in the church that we have to go out for? It's not just about Success. You may succeed without knowing Christ. Hmmm? Someone says. But am sure you know many corrupt, evil people who don't know Christ yet they are successful as far as human parameters are concerned but say we shouldn't be envious of them because they stand in slippery places Psalm 73 verse 18. David was at a time, but he learnt the lesson. By practicing certain principles you MAY succeed even without being a Christian the Law of Sowing and Reaping for example can work for both believers and unbelievers just as rain falls on both then just and the wicked. 

Sometimes it’s not just about Success, Wealth and fame. It’s about how much value we are adding to people's lives, the legacy we are leaving, and how much we are contributing to heavens agenda which determines what we will meet after our time on earth. Because there is LIFE AFTER EARTH.

Listen up, we have more than enough models of success and excellence in Music and Movie industry who are Christians  and I still wonder what we are looking for outside. We have to know that human beings sink things in whole. You can’t separate the result from the person. This is not about castigating someone but we have to protect the lives and spirits of our vulnerable members many of whom are still even struggling to be strong in Christ. Look at it this way- someone comes to church who up till last month was still struggling with sin and living an ungodly life. He/she was listening to these artistes. You win that soul to God and he/she came to church only for him/her to meet the same thing he/she came away from. See that? 

Many of them find it difficult to even worship on Sunday morning because all week long they were listening to the songs from that several artistes performing ungodly music whom you have now invited to church, they therefore experience a shock in flow when they have to sing worship songs.

The church is a place to feed souls. If we want to reach out to non-gospel or non-Christian artistes, it won’t be done by inviting them to perform. Let’s reach out to them. Understand that when someone is ministering to the church there's transference of spirits. It’s not just transference of knowledge. If the song is good and it’s by a non-gospel artist, you may listen to it, you may love it. But bringing such to your platform in church is a whole new ball game that must never be played. You may relate with non Christian people in the industry but the same bible that says we should love sinners still tells us not be equally yoked with them. What that means is there are limits and boundaries that must never be crossed. 

T O B E  C O N T I N U E D

Tommy Tush can be contacted via the following platforms:

Phone: +2347032620328 and +2349095678265
Email: mdtushe@gmail.com 
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