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Okay, I’m really getting tired of reality shows. Even a foodie like me has a hard time watching the third season of Top Chef… and its here in Chicago. However, my wife and boys like American Idol, so I took a break from fragging demons in Hellgate: London and came downstairs to watch the finale of the Idol benefit concert. It was cool to see the Wilson sisters (always been a heart fan) and was pleasantly surprised by Fergie’s contribution to Barracuda.

But then came the closing and I was left puzzled. Okay, “Shout to the Lord” (along with “Awesome God”) is a catching song but its the late 20th Century “Amazing Grace” – nice to since once a year but any more than that and its “oh, no, not that again.” A nice song but so over used its become tiresome.

Yes, I picked up leaving the name of Jesus and despite some of the blog buzz, no big deal. Its PC network television – I expected no less. What I didn’t expect was this nod to the Christian music scene that frankly had no connection with the ending montage, or seemingly to the rest of the show.

I guess I came away from the performance thinking it was a lot like the Church today, at least in the West. Nice tune, doesn’t really say a whole lot, and disconnected from the rest of the show. If the Time-Life Worship collections are any indication, Praise and Worship is stuck in a rut – three collections of CDs with virtually the same songs, just different artists (and often not even that.)

Perhaps its just that old cycle of life that was talked about in Ecclesiastes (“there is a time for every season). I think Idol/reality shows are getting tired and disconnected, and so is Praise & Worship and a fair number of our congregations.

Maybe its time to sing a new song…

5 Responses to “American Idol Goes Praise & Worship?”

  1. Tim says:

    Actually, the name of Jesus has been sung on American Idol SEVERAL times over the past couple of weeks.

    Check out this blog to see what I’m talking about:

    http://blog.compassion.com/jesus-on-idol/

  2. Tom Lyberg says:

    I stand corrected. Thats what I get for not watching. I’m curious, did the judges ever make any comment about using a faith song rather than just regular pop? I just have this image of Randy: “Yo, dawg, about this Jesus thing…”

  3. […] Okay, I’m really getting tired of reality shows. Even a foodie like me has a hard time watchin Source: American Idol Goes Praise & Worship? […]

  4. Mango says:

    This is so awesome. Thanks, Tom for the surprise find. Looking through Youtube, there are two versions of the Shout to the Lord. The version with the final 8 before their final performances for the Give Back closing, the 8 sang the original unedited version. It’s called “Shout to the Lord: American Idol 10 April 2008 [HD]” on YouTube.

  5. Mango says:

    P.S. The video with the intro, “My Jesus, my Savior” on Youtube was infact a reprise and not what I have stated above. Erroneous error- oops!

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