It's crazy. I wasn’t even 1/8 the fan of Whitney as I am Michael Jackson and her passing has hit me harder than his did.  With MJ’s passing I was numb for about a day.  But with Whitney’s passing I just can’t seem to shake this sadness. It wasn’t until I read a tweet by Questlove did the pieces start to come together:

@Questlove: man. 4:40am & this whitney {stuff} is still {messing} w/ me. dunno why....i mean MJ was my idol & i cried but i wasn't depressed. THIS however...

And that’s when the light bulb came on.  Michael Jackson was magic. I mean deep down we thought he MIGHT be a regular dude but he was still Peter Pan. He seemed to be this untouchable mystery.  But Whitney? She was one of us.

I find it very interesting that often times one of the reasons given why Christians should not perform mainstream music is that "you can't serve both God and money"  (Matthew 6:24).  Out of all the scriptures in the bible that I find most misinterpreted, this is high up on the list; right behind "The love of money (which is usually misquoted as just money itself) is the root of all evil." Interestingly enough these scriptures are very similar.

I find this argument interesting because it is presumptuous to think that one would pursue a career in mainstream just to chase money . Quite honestly, I think it is just as easy to say that there are those that pursue careers in Gospel/CCM music for the same reason.  This is purely my opinion (one that I stand wholeheartedly by) that there are believers who have been called to impact mainstream culture but because of the competition, criticism, and when we get right down to it, the grind that is required, they shy away.  I am not trying to make the career of one in Gospel/CCM sound trivial but for the most part there is a plan laid out.  You play these set of churches, you get on this particular gospel show, you play these types of conventions... there is a set blueprint.  But unfortunately there are not too many trailblazers who have been successful in mainstream while not compromising their faith.  It is difficult trying to find a sure shot pattern to follow.  Because of our lack of impact, music itself is suffering greatly.  It's evident every time you turn on the radio.

I fear that there are too many talented believers that are desperately needed in mainstream that are defaulting to singing gospel/CCM music (please don't take that as a slight to those industries.  A career in either is not easy at all.)  I know this happens because I have had conversations with artists where they have revealed to me that that they were going to go gospel.  I am all for doing that if that is where you are supposed to be but these conversations that we were having were out of frustration due to lack of success in mainstream. Going gospel just seemed easier because of the audience and structure already in place.  At the end of the day it's not always an artist desire to be rich; they want to eat. They want to consistently pay their bills on time.  For an artist that started out in the church and was most likely urged to only perform in church, it's easy to have second thoughts and go with what seems to be an easier means to an end.

Unfortunately because these artists aren't called to be in gospel/CCM music they run the risk of creatively suffocating.  There are certain parameters in these industries that don't allow room to explore not just different types of content but musical creativity.  It's not a religious thing; it's a business thing.  Actually, it's more of a comfort thing. This industry just isn't into taking many risks.  It doesn't matter how many record executives say they like your music because you are "outside of the box", the Gospel/CCM industry tends to go with what they are most comfortable with.  More times than not, an artist that is outside of the box will have to scale back on their creativity to make their music seem easier to digest, in the industry's eyes yet not necessarily to the audience's ears.  I think the average listener would be amazed at what some industry execs think their ears are not ready for or won't welcome.

Bottom line: Be where God called you to be and don't pimp gospel/CCM music for money.  The matter doesn't lie with gospel vs. secular; the matter lies with motive and calling. I know it's risky but according to 2 Peter 1:3 God's divine power "has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him that has called us by his own glory and goodness." If you truly have what it takes and mainstream is where you are called to be, I encourage you to take the road less traveled. Psalm 23:3 says "He refreshes my soul.  He guides me along the right paths for His name's sake."   There are people just like you who are going to need some footsteps to follow.

Along with being a writer, I am also a media coach.  A media coach coaches people for media appearances such as interviews, hosting, etc.   Often when coaching an artist who is a Christian in mainstream music, I try to get them out of the habit of saying that they perform "secular" music.  The reason is because of something I once heard R&B singer Howard Hewett say about why he doesn't call his music secular.  I thought that was really interesting so I looked up some other interviews to to find out his thoughts on being a Christian artist in mainstream.  Here is what he had to say in interviews from GospelFlava.com and NPR.

"Therefore I, a prisoner for serving the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of your calling. for you have been called by God."  - Paul's letter to the church of Ephesus as told in Ephesians 4:1