I caught Monte Mader talking briefly about this song on her YT channel and I only halfway listened to her thoughts, so I didn’t realize what the big deal was. I’ll admit I was a little curious about why someone like Mader was playing such a religious song by Avalon, though.
I remember back in my Christian days listening to this song and this band quite a bit. I missed hearing about Michael Passons’ departure from the band, but the way it happened doesn’t surprise me at all. The machine that is Contemporary Christian Music is not at all kind to the people who don’t toe the line.
When Ray Boltz came out, his music instantly became toxic for some reason. I never understood why “The Anchor Holds,” or “For Only One,” or “Watch The Lamb” were essentially banned from churches. Wasn’t the message the same? Did the capacity of his music to heal and witness somehow change because he announced that he was a sinner—just like every other Christian?
Passons likely never released any solo material because he saw how people like Boltz and Jennifer Knapp were treated. Hell, Contemporary Christian Music even ostracized Sandy Patti and Amy Grant for a time over their divorces.
I’m glad Passons has found people to heal with.
There are a bunch of good links (and heartwarming comments) at The Friendly Atheist’s article.
An Apology
Before I get too involved in this piece, I want to say to my LGBTQ+ readers that I apologize for my previous positions on homosexuality. I grew up in the 70s, when one of the worst insults you could hurl at someone was to call them a fag or otherwise insinuate they were gay. That attitude followed me into evangelicalism. Somewhere near the beginning of my deconstruction and deconversion, my attitude shifted, and I realized that gay people weren’t GAY people. They were gay PEOPLE. I realized that, even if being gay was a sin, it was really no different than any other sin. Then I grew even more and realized that God likely wasn’t real, and the list of sinful things was largely manmade anyway.
So to anyone in or around the LGBTQ+ community I’ve known who I offended or insulted: I apologize.
Sinner!
Why do Christians get so worked up about this particular sin?
Have you noticed that?
They seem to get more upset about homosexuality than they do about child abuse or murder.
They laugh about certain sins. There’s a running joke in Nazarene circles: “Wherever there are two or more Nazarenes, there will be food.” But isn’t gluttony a sin? Why don’t pastors and congregations put as much effort into fighting gluttony as they do into fighting marriage equality?
Why do churches fight so hard against marriage equality when Jesus commanded them to visit the sick, to visit the incarcerated, to help the poor and the hungry?
When was the last time you heard of a church throwing a third-year banquet?
After The Sermon
It’s true that you’ll sometimes hear pastors preaching the story of the Good Samaritan or talking about serving the poor. But then what?
Do the congregations put the message into practice?
All too often, congregations balk at getting their hands or their buildings dirty. They don’t want to invite “those people” into their lovely building. Congregations think they won’t know how to act. They won’t know when to stand during the service and when to sit.
They won’t have any money to contribute during the offering.
They’re dirty.
Their clothes have holes.
They smell bad.
And all too often, the pastor just ignores what their congregation is (or more correctly, isn’t) doing.
That doesn’t say anything good about the congregation or the pastor.
What Changed?
I noted above what happened to Ray Boltz and Jennifer Knapp, among others. Ray Boltz wrote a number of evangelical staples over the years. “The Anchor Holds,” or “For Only One,” “Thank You (For Giving To The Lord)”, “I Pledge Allegiance to the Lamb” all have been sung hundreds of times as specials in thousands of churches.
“Watch The Lamb” was the title of and the main song in an Easter cantata I performed in the year after I got saved.
But after Boltz came out in 2008, I don’t think I ever heard another song of his on Contemporary Christian Music radio stations or in a church.
But why?
What changed in the music?
The anchor holds
Though the ship is battered
The anchor holds
Though the sails are torn
Are those words any different now than in 1994?
What changed when he came out? The words didn’t. The meaning didn’t.
And really, the singer didn’t change, either. Ray Botlz in 2008 was the same man he was in 1994. You just learned something about him that you didn’t like. You found out that, according to your reading of the Bible, he sinned differently from you.
But doesn’t your Bible say that everyone’s a sinner? And weren’t we taught that all sins are the same?
Does God say that some sins are worse than others? I know man does. But does God?
The Bible’s very clear about that, isn’t it? You’re allowed to criticize anyone who sins differently from you, right?
Yeah, seeing that from so many people I was supposed to look up to was another stepping stone on my path.
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