I spent most of the day in my car driving north, up I-85 to I-95, through Washington, DC, and into Baltimore. Tomorrow I present a project at the MAPACA conference; tonight I’m staying with my cousin-in-law and her family.

I listened to Christian radio throughout much of rural Virginia. There are only a few dominant themes in contemporary Christian music: life without Jesus is miserable; people need healing; Jesus thinks you are special and wonderful, even though you are otherwise a miserable person who needs healing. I don’t listen to contemporary Christian music much because it makes me mad–it reduces my faith to a mere self-help system with cloying media. This type of faith is hardly better than no faith at all.

The Christian life is one of service, not self-help. If my faith does not compel me to serve others, then I am no better than the listeners of Christian radio.