Last night, the final 8 contestants on American Idol ended by singing one of the greatest worship songs of all time, Shout To The Lord by Darlene Zschech of Hillsong Australia.
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Source of infomation below taken from Upside Down Youth
If you did not get to watch American Idol last night. The last song of the night. I was shocked to hear Shout the Lord by Darlene Zschech. It was interesting to note they changed the words from My Jesus, to My Shepherd keeping rest of the song’s integrity in tact. Now, the skeptic in me says see they aren’t acknowledging Christ. Thus turning the song into an inspirational love song about themselves like they did with Mercy Me’s I Can Only Imagine a couple years back. However, one should be impressed with the fact that it was shared on such a large stage and audience. I believe this gives Christians a great opportunity to share the Gospel with those who need to hear the truth.
Since we have been studying the Truth Project by Focus on the Family on Wednesday’s Nights, one of our church members sent an email with these encouraging and thought provoking words about it,
“No Joke! American Idol ended tonight with the contestants belting out Shout
to the Lord (by Hillsong). I’m going to side with the Apostle Paul on this.
I don’t care necessarily why they did it, I care that Christ was proclaimed
in song. All 30 plus million that watched tonight heard that nothing matters
more than Jesus being Lord of their life. All of the tragedy that was shown
tonight was ended with the last line of the song, “nothing compares to the
promise I have in you.”
It would been a great ending had they not followed up with the Ben Stiller
bit after they went off the air.
Considering our topic tonight during the Truth Project in seems apropos.
Here is the fallen man and the redeemed man in contrast. One bowing to the
Almighty, the other bowing the knee to self. At least from the Christian
Worldview they have a reason to give back. If the unregenerate was
consistent with their worldview they shouldn’t care about starving children.
It’s just natural selection working itself out. I am thankful, however, that
they do borrow from our worldview on this one.
What would happen if His Church “stood in the gap”? What would happen if we
boldly and unashamedly proclaimed the good news? What would happen if God’s
people came out of hiding and tore down the inconsistent and unbiblical wordviews of the unregenerate? Imagine the miracles we would all see. More importantly, imagine how God would be glorified.
I don’t know about you guys, but I often feel more like the servant who hid
his talent than I feel like the servants who double their talents. May God
grant us all a passion for the lost, a passion for proclaiming the Gospel no
matter what it cost us. May He grant us the courage to stand even if we are
the only ones standing. The reality is that we are never alone. By His power
and for His Glory we stand and proclaim the good news of salvation to a lost
world. May He grant us the strength to endure until our final breath or His
return in Glory. If our final breath comes before he returns, may He pass on
this passion and courage from generation to generation until His return.
This is my prayer for myself. This is my prayer for TCC.”
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"Last night I only saw a little of the American Idol special "Idol Gives Back" that raises money for a number of worthy causes around the world. I think it's great that the show uses its huge platform to help people in need. Their work in Africa and in many parts of the U.S. is very inspiring.
I found out this morning that they closed the show with the eight remaining contestants singing the song "Shout to the Lord." Is that surreal or what? The interesting thing is that they changed the lyrics from "My Jesus, my Savior" to "My Shepherd, my Savior." The funny thing is that a few weeks ago when they were doing Dolly Parton songs I think several singers did songs that used the name of Jesus in them. But then when they do a worship song they leave Jesus out. Hmmm...
I'm not the kind of person that gets worked up about things like this. I'm just curious. I'd love to know what the decision-making process for the producers looks like. Are there Christians involved who are trying to get songs like this on the show? Or to take a more cynical view, do they just realize that a huge portion of their base (and a lot of the people who will be quick to contribute) are evangelical Christians so they throw us a bone once in awhile? But then if that's the case, who made the decision to cut "Jesus" out of the lyrics? Are there factions at Idol who don't like bringing in Christian themes so they had to make this compromise? Ahhh, the intrigue of it all.
One more question: are they even allowed to change lyrics like that? Could Darlene Zschech who wrote the song sue them for gazillions? Or at least demand that they do a whole show where the contestants have to sing only Hillsong tunes?"
Source of this Write-Up: John Harris
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