Leaving Long-Faced Religion Behind

Last updated on: September 12, 2014 at 2:47 am by Esther O’Reilly

Leaving Long-Faced Religion Behind 2014-09-12T02:47:35-04:00 Esther O’Reilly

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

So the other day, this regional quartet called Mark209 put out a silly music video for a novelty song called “Have a Good Time,” and now some people are getting all upset about it. Some other gospel artist (I know his name but he’s nobody I’ve ever heard of before) was Facebooking his thoughts on the matter rather bluntly. He thought it was risque, said it “nauseated” him, and wished that Mark209 would just leave southern gospel altogether and go play to the godless masses. Them’s pretty strong words!

So naturally I wondered what all the fuss was about and watched the video myself. If you absolutely need to burn a few brain cells, you can watch it here too, but honestly, it’s really not much to get upset or excited over. It’s just forgettable, vapid and goofy, with some shots of cheerleaders in questionably modest outfits (probably the main thing that’s upsetting folks).
I’m more interested in the general debate it’s brought out regarding what the Christian religion is supposed to look or sound like—in short, whether Christians are even allowed to “have a good time.” To say that this debate is nothing new would be a vast understatement.

The basic message that I think Mark209 is trying to get across in the song lyrics (and by extension, the video), isn’t necessarily a bad one. It’s this idea that Christians don’t have to be serious all the time, that we don’t have to view God as a spoilsport, trying to take away natural human exuberance and joy. Based on some of the rules that certain denominations have prescribed for believers, one could easily get that very impression. (Just to be clear about where I’m coming from, I respect people who come from that background, but let’s just say that when you’re stopping two kids from playing Uno because it’s a card game, or creating earnest skits about why it’s a sin to say the word “darn,” that seems like a stretch to me.)
Steven Curtis Chapman encapsulated this thought much more memorably with his song “The Great Adventure,” back in 1992. The line that probably most had folks raising their eyebrows was, “Come on, get ready for the ride of your life. Gonna leave long-faced religion in a cloud of dust behind.” My own family and I, as proudly and robustly counter-cultural as we are, have always gotten a kick out of that line. Why? It’s not because we’re desperate to join our local chapter of Christian Culture Snobs Anonymous—if anyone needs a word of kindly advice from Peter Falk, it’s those folks. It’s because sometimes, there really can be such a thing as “long-faced religion”—prescribed rules for Christian living that are non-essential, that depend more on personal taste than on Scripture, and that actually fit Jesus’ description of binding burdens on people’s backs.
“Being like the Pharisees” isn’t something I would accuse anyone of lightly, and Lord knows it’s an accusation that’s been used and abused to death in our progressive Christian culture. In fact, sometimes it can turn into its own kind of reverse Pharisaism (Lord, I thank you that I’m not like those uptight fundamentalist fuddy-duddies!) But at a certain point, I think it’s healthy to recognize when it’s time to lighten up. Stop taking ourselves quite so seriously. Remind ourselves that there’s nothing intrinsically wrong with having fun. As obvious as that may be to most of you, for some people it really is a revelation.
You might surmise from my last paragraph that my tastes lean loose and casual when it comes to church music and church worship. Nothing could be further from the truth. I was raised in a tiny Anglican church on the 1928 Book of Common Prayer: one liturgy, one organ, one sanctuary, one priest, no band. I die a little inside every time I see a set of drums on a church stage. I cringe when people break into applause during a worship service. I even feel like something’s been lost when people are reading lyrics from a screen instead of holding real hymnals in their hands.
But when it comes to my personal tastes—in music, in film, in art—I simply don’t feel bound to maintain this heaviness that some folks seem to view as so essential to right Christianity. I see no tension between singing the most reverent Communion hymn you can imagine in church and rocking out to the Imperials’ “Trumpet of Jesus” at home. I don’t even see a tension with doing an epic John Travolta walk around the house to “Stayin’ Alive” (it looks even sillier than it sounds) belting out “Jeremiah Was a Bullfrog” (er, okay, maybe not all the verses), or head-banging to “Carry On Wayward Son” (though this latter activity may not be practically wise for the old neck muscles—I speak from experience).
There is a proper time and place to be hushed and reverent, and there is a proper time and place to lose the long face. I find it hard to believe that the God who made penguins and platypuses and big schnozzes doesn’t have a sense of fun. (And nobody had better comic timing than Jesus. Seriously, re-read the gospels and watch for the moments where that dry, devastating Jewish humor comes out.)
So, in the end, I really don’t have a problem with what the guys of Mark209 are trying to say. I just think they needed to find a better way to say it. Personally, I’ll stick with this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hVFPjIp6nkk?rel=0&w=500&h=315

Faith and Culture

Music

Previous Post

September 10, 2014

Tony Jarman, "One Holy Lamb"

Next Post

September 16, 2014 On Homosexuality and Lost Sons

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category 3 star 3.5 star 4 star 4.5 star Anatomy of a Song Behind the Songs Blog Stuff Book Reviews CCM CCM vs. SG CD Reviews Christians in Entertainment Christmas Essential 12 Christmas Favorites Christmas Top Fives Concert Reviews Concerts Culture Devotional Thoughts Faith and Culture From the Vault Fun Gospel Singers Gospel Songs Great Music Guest Posts Harmony Master Classes History Holidays Humor Hymns Interviews Marriage in the Movies Monday Morning Humor Movie Reviews Movies Music NQC Odds and Ends Old Movies, New Eyes Old Southern Gospel News Old Stuff Open Threads Other Genres Perfect Tenor Performances Polls Questions and Answers Recently Added SG vs. The Rest of the World Sing It Again Songs Songwriting Southern Gospel Surprise Sunday The Definitive Hymns Theology Toe-to-Toe Top 10 Lists Top 5 Top 5 Lists Two Sisters Review Uncategorized Video Posts Youtube Finds

Select a Month August 2026 February 2025 August 2024 June 2024 May 2024 April 2024 March 2024 October 2023 March 2023 February 2023 December 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 June 2020 March 2020 February 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 April 2018 September 2017 August 2017 May 2017 February 2017 December 2016 November 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

True or False: Paul instructed Philemon to receive Onesimus back as more than a slave, as a dear brother.

Select your answer to see how you score.

FALSE TRUE