UPDATE: R.T. Maldaner and his wife, Sarah, have written a statement in response to the information in this article pertaining to them. It is posted at the end of the article.
Moody Radio has announced it is cancelling an appearance by Vertical Worship at an upcoming worship night on Moody’s campus. Vertical Worship is the worship and songwriting ministry of Harvest Bible Chapel (HBC), which reportedly still has financial ties to disgraced former pastor James MacDonald, and employs worship leaders who for years were loyal to MacDonald.
Moody had been advertising that the worship night on August 24 would feature music by Vertical Worship and Moody graduate student, Ayanda Khumalo. But Moody Bible Institute Senior Vice President of Media Greg Thornton told me that the institute had received numerous calls and emails from people upset that Moody was hosting Vertical Worship.
Thornton said Moody heard peoples’ hurt and concern and responded accordingly. “Moody is aware of the season that HBC is in and the challenges it’s faced,” Thornton said. “And we recognize that some, who would consider coming to the worship, would be distracted because of this. So, we’ll be inviting another worship leader in.”
[pullquote]“Moody is aware of the season that HBC is in and the challenges it’s faced. And we recognize that some, who would consider coming to the worship, would be distracted because of this. So, we’ll be inviting another worship leader in.”[/pullquote]MacDonald was fired in February, following the airing of his vulgar comments on Chicago radio, and numerous reports of his deception, financial misconduct, and bullying. Soon after, Vertical Worship canceled its entire spring tour.Your tax-deductible gift helps our journalists report the truth and hold Christian leaders and organizations accountable. Give a gift of $30 or more to The Roys Report this month, and you will receive a copy of “Hurt and Healed by the Church” by Ryan George. To donate, click here.
However, now Vertical Worship appears to be ramping up again. The worship night at Moody was just one of several events and a new album recording Vertical Worship had planned for the fall. Vertical Worship also runs a “Worship Leader Cohort”—a one-year, $2,500 development program for seasoned worship leaders led by Harvest staff and high-profile guests like Paul Baloche and Jason Ingram. According to Vertical Worship’s website, the cohort just conducted a workshop last week and has another planned for November.
Moody’s Longstanding Relationship with Macdonald & Harvest
Moody’s planned worship event with Vertical Worship has raised questions about Moody’s longstanding relationship with both MacDonald and Harvest. For 19 years, MacDonald’s radio program, Walk in the Word, aired on the Moody Radio Network. (MacDonald removed it in January.) Moody Publishers also has published at least 10 of MacDonald’s books, which Moody has since pulled.
MacDonald was a frequent speaker at Moody conferences. And according to a 2018 talk MacDonald gave at Moody’s Founder’s Week in the wake of major turnover and controversy at MBI, MacDonald enjoyed a close relationship with both Thornton and former MBI President Paul Nyquist.
Excerpt from MacDonald’s Message at Founder’s Week 2018:
In addition, WORLD Magazine reported in 2013 that MacDonald sometimes played poker with former MBI Board Chairman Jerry Jenkins. During this same time period, Harvest also employed Jenkins’ son, Dallas Jenkins, as executive director of Vertical Church Films.
About a year ago, Jenkins stepped off the Moody Board of Trustees. And in January, Moody installed Mark Jobe as the 10th President of the Moody Bible Institute, replacing Thornton who had served as interim president.
However, in April, MacDonald’s relationship with another Moody personality sparked controversy. It was then that Moody Radio Host Ed Stetzer admitted that he had accepted a $13,000 car from MacDonald, which had been purchased with funds from Walk in the Word. (Stetzer said he reimbursed Harvest for the funds when he discovered the ministry had paid for the car.)
Stetzer also used his position at Christianity Today to connect MacDonald with CT editors last October, according to CT Editor in Chief Mark Galli. This led to CT publishing MacDonald’s commentary, “Why Suing is Sometimes the Biblical Choice.”
Is James MacDonald Still Profiting From Vertical Worship?
Recent events have also prompted questions about MacDonald’s ties, especially financial ones, to Vertical Worship. According to former Harvest deacon, Emmanuel “Manny” Bucur, a senior leader at Harvest told him in April that MacDonald and other MacDonald family members receive royalties on all Vertical Worship songs they’ve written.
These would include songs like “Open Up the Heavens,” which James MacDonald co-wrote with four other artists, and “Real Thing,” which Landon MacDonald co-wrote with three other artists. (In addition to receiving royalties from recordings, songwriters also receive royalties when organizations do things that require licensing. These include reproducing the song’s lyrics and chord charts, or storing them in a computer for display.)
However, Bucur said the leader specified that only James MacDonald gets a cut on “overall” Vertical Worship royalties.
I texted and called Harvest Lead Ministry Pastor Greg Bradshaw, specifically asking whether James MacDonald still receives money from Vertical Worship, but Bradshaw did not respond. I also called and left a detailed message for Harvest CFO Jeff Sharda, but he did not call back.
However, Josh Caterer, a former Harvest worship leader and lead singer of the punk band Smoking Popes, sent me the proposed license and co-publishing agreement that Harvest had sent him in 2011. The document specifies that Provident, the music group with which Vertical Worship signed, “agrees to pay Dr. James McDonald [sic] and Jason Ingram an Executive Producer Royalty of two percent (2%) of all Gross Receipts.” (Caterer said Ingram’s “executive producer” cut was eventually removed.)
I contacted Provident for more information but did not get a response. I also texted MacDonald for comment, but he did not respond.
Caterer also sent me the “exclusive songwriting agreement” MacDonald had asked him to sign in 2011. Caterer said his lawyer, who had extensive experience with entertainment deals, told him that Harvest’s offer was “the worst deal he’d seen in his entire career” and that Josh would be crazy to sign it. However, Caterer said his lawyer noted that the deal was great for MacDonald “because he gets a cut of your publishing off the top and he’s not doing anything.”
Caterer said the lawyer also noted that not only would MacDonald get a cut on all the songs Caterer would publish from the time he signed the contract, but also on all the songs Caterer had written since the time of his employment nine years prior.
Caterer said MacDonald told all the worship leaders that if they didn’t sign the contract, there wouldn’t be a place for them long-term at Harvest. Caterer said when he shared his lawyer’s objections with MacDonald, MacDonald said Caterer’s lawyer didn’t know what he was talking about and that Caterer should just trust him.
Caterer added that MacDonald told the worship team that he was going to donate his portion of the publishing royalties back to the church. But Caterer said MacDonald had broken his word before, so “I had no reason to believe that his verbal agreements would hold any water at all.”
Up to this point, Caterer said he had recognized some of MacDonald’s character flaws, but had tried to believe the best about MacDonald and that McDonald had Caterer’s best interest in mind. However, this experience changed that. And instead of signing the songwriting agreement, Caterer resigned.
Are Worship Leaders From Harvest Fit to Lead?
People are also questioning whether Vertical Worship leaders, who for years were loyal to James MacDonald and part of the “toxic” culture at Harvest, are fit to lead.
According to former Harvest worship leader, Matt Stowell (son of former Moody President Joe Stowell), the culture at Harvest was one in which “only one voice really matters”—MacDonald’s. Stowell added that “fear more than love, or humility, or any fruits of the spirit—was a daily, palpable reality.”
Yet Stowell said it was hard to leave Harvest because of the perks and a six-figure salary (in 2008) that Stowell received. (According to Indeed.com, the average national salary for a worship leader is $25,530. And according to Paysa, top earners at the megachurch Hillsong make only $84,000.) However, Stowell said he eventually left Harvest because “the mental cost of reconciling all that was happening was bankrupting my soul.”
Others, like former worship leader Mike Bryant, told me that Harvest trains people to value “loyalty above righteousness.” Both Rob Green, a former counseling pastor, and even former top elder, Randy Williams, described Harvest’s culture as cult-like. Bryant, Green, and many others I interviewed over the course of my months-long investigation of Harvest, said it took years for them to deprogram from Harvest’s system.
Yet, Vertical Worship advertises that its cohort “coaches”—many of whom are longtime Harvest employees—will train worship leaders in “shepherding and caring for your team and volunteers,” and “maintaining a worship culture.” And even Paul Baloche, a coach who never served on staff at Harvest, showed surprising loyalty to MacDonald when reports of wrongdoing first broke.
After my WORLD Magazine article outlining allegations against MacDonald published, Baloche tweeted: “Saddened by your pettiness and self-righteous pursuit to tear down good, but imperfect ministries. Happy with yourself? You will be judged as you have judged others.” Baloche also tweeted that he had known the MacDonalds for over 30 years and had “experienced their most generous, loving ministry first hand.”
When Baloch received backlash for his tweets from people alleging that MacDonald and/or his associates had abused them and the church, Baloche appeared to soften his stance. Still, questions remain about Vertical Worship leaders, especially those who worked closely with MacDonald and were at the center of controversy.
Andi Rozier
Andi Rozier has led worship at Harvest for nearly 20 years and is a key Vertical Worship leader and musician. Rozier also was at the center of controversy in February when former Harvest worship leader Anne Green named Rozier as a witness to a sexual assault by MacDonald in 2005. The assault allegedly took place on a small, private plane, and Green said it ended with her yelling at MacDonald, and MacDonald joking about Green taking down his ministry.
Green said the plane was “very quiet,” so she’s quite sure Rozier and the others on the plane heard her interaction with MacDonald. She also said Rozier approached her the next day as the two were about to lead worship and asked if she was okay.
However, Rozier, and the two other Harvest staff members Green named as witnesses, denied seeing or hearing any incident on the plane. All three of them sent me statements last September—three days after I sent an email to one of them inquiring about the alleged incident. This all occurred about two weeks before Harvest and MacDonald slapped four other defendants and me with a lawsuit.
In his statement, Rozier said, “I have no memory of any incident of any kind.” Yet Matt Stowell, who knew about the alleged incident between Green and MacDonald, said he was surprised by Rozier’s statement. “At some point, I think most of the leadership in worship at Harvest had become aware of it,” he said.
When I asked Stowell if it’s consistent for employees to cover for MacDonald, Stowell said, “Oh yes—100 percent. The general m.o. was protect James at all cost. Protect James. Protect the church.”
I reached out to Rozier for comment, but he did not respond.
Jon Collado & Eddie Hoagland
Jon Collado, a Vertical Worship coach and Harvest worship leader, has only been at Harvest for about three years. Yet in that time, Collado has also found himself in a sticky situation involving former staff.
Collado used to be friends with R.T. Maldaner, a former pastor at Harvest’s Elgin campus. But Maldaner resigned from Harvest in January of 2018. And Maldaner says that because he refused to sign a non-compete agreement with Harvest, and planted a church nearby, Harvest aggressively sought to undermine Maldaner’s new church.
Yet in April 2018, Collado led worship at a gathering of people from Maldaner’s church, called City of Joy. The next day, Maldaner said he received an email from Collado, informing Maldaner that the two “can no longer fellowship with one another.” The email also accused Maldaner of “attacks against the leadership of Harvest” and of “sowing discord.”
Collado’s text to Maldaner:
However, about 30 minutes later, Collado’s wife, Monique, texted Maldaner’s wife, Sarah, saying that “it’s all good” and that Jon would call R.T. that night. Monique also said that someone who had attended the meeting the night before had said something to Harvest leadership. And that afternoon, Collado had been in a two-and-a-half hour meeting with Luke MacDonald—James MacDonald’s son—and Harvest worship pastor, Eddie Hoagland.
Maldaner said Collado called him that night and told him that Luke MacDonald and Hoagland had forced Collado to send the text to Maldaner. (Interestingly, Collado’s text begins, “First, I want you to know that these words are mine and mine alone.”) Maldaner said Collado told him that he had sent the text to Maldaner because he didn’t want to lose his job at Harvest.
I called and texted Collado for comment, but he did not respond. I also emailed Hoagland and MacDonald, asking them about the incident, but neither one responded. Luke MacDonald served as creative director of Vertical Worship and produced albums for the ministry but has since resigned. Hoagland, on the other hand, was promoted to Harvest’s Central Leadership Team and also serves as a Vertical Worship coach.
R.T. Maldaner and his wife, Sarah, sent me the following statement after this story published:
Statement regarding Julie’s article
English 
Spanish
40 Responses
I loved my time at Moody back in the 90s. After all the issues with the board two years ago, I stopped giving out of concern for their way of doing business. With the latest revelations, I will continue to wait. Whatever happened to the biblical directive for leaders to be above approach?
Stopped giving to Moody also.
I knew that Vertical Worship was not good to have at Moody. I wondered why they weren’t mentioned recently as being a part of an upcoming worship night. They now have another group of people singing songs the night that Vertical Worship would have been there. I also remember, Julie, that Andy was mentioned in one of your posts as being a witness to some of the nasty stuff that James did on an airplane, I believe, to a female member of the team. How far does all this stuff go? Still waiting to hear when the authorities will get involved and also an independent attorney group not affiliated with HBC.
Dear Lord please help us! Keep those of us who are true sheep of your flock from being blinded or chewed up by the wolves around us and even in our midst.
I was wondering that about Moody too.
Some thoughts:
God seems to be revealing the collusion of things mixed together, what is his mixed in with that which is not. Like the falleness of the McDonald’s mixed with worship songs that have probably blessed people.
2. This collusion is probably happening at Moody too. I pray that God keeps purifying them.
That is good they canceled the worship night with VT. And added a different band.
On the 90.1 morning show they talking about John Cooper’s letter and the call to action it represents to Christian leaders today. That we must value the Word and Christ Over our own coolness.
Pray for clarification and purification in the Church. Amen.
Thanks to all those, along with Julie, who are in the trenches bringing the truth to the light! I’m very relieved that this concert has been cancelled.
I believe, unless you step away from the hbc culture and look at things through God’s Word without the influence of hbc, it is nearly impossible to see thru the FOG – fear, obligation, and guilt – the soil hbc is built on. I was on staff a long time and it happened to me. Praising God that He ushered me out, is healing me, and am back to worshipping Him only. A long but worthwhile journey!
Praying for the VW team to be humbled and revelation of the truthful, free, joyful, relaxed relationship with God available outside of hbc. It’s like coming home ??
Jon Collado was brought to Harvest by Paul Paul Baloche. They used to work together.
Jon will no longer be a part of Harvest
Julie, Id be curious for you to investigate how the new church leadership team decided to use a portion of the funds ($100k-$150k?) given to the “Closer” campaign to go towards recording a new vertical worship album. Is that even legal? The campaign was not originally intended for a worship album recording as far as I’m aware.
Thank you for this, I had been wondering for awhile how much longer Vertical Worship would go unscathed after the MacDonald implosion. The notes about royalties and writing credits is especially interesting — note that Steven Furtick receives writing credits & royalties for some of Elevation Worship’s biggest hits such as “Come to the Altar,” which is a CCLI chart-topper and a mainstay on CCM radio. It’d be interesting to know what his deal is – a look on CCLI’s website shows that he’s attached to over 150 of their songs.
For that matter, the entire worship industry (and boy is it an industry) is probably not as strong as it appears to be: Hillsong is still dealing with investigations into a sexual abuse coverup, Vertical Worship is seeing some pushback due to Harvest’s ways, Elevation Worship will rise and fall with Furtick’s celebrity, and Bethel Music/Jesus Culture has enough skeevy teaching and practices to fill a few blog posts…and that’s not even touching on their connection to the infamous “prophets” Bob Jones and Benny Hinn. Ditto the International House of Prayer and their alum Cory Asbury.
The past 10 years has seen a number of major evangelical mainstays collapse under their own hubris, questions, and/or coverups. The worship music performers we see as influential and financially lucrative can go the same way if we don’t stop for a few minutes and think about what kinds of people and groups we’re presenting to our churches.
Never heard of a non-compete clause in Christian ministry. I can’t find in my Bible anywhere where the disciples signed a non-compete clause to not expand in and around and even beyond Israel. We learn much from this very sad tale of potential pitfalls of “celebrity” lead ministry. A prayerful balance is needed to be maintained between a pastor being allowed to lead his congregation and true elder accountability/joint full group responsibility.
Just a sidebar: Was James MacDonald ordained in, for example, Rolling Meadows Evangelical Free Church (now The Orchard)? If so, does that denomination or who ever first ordained him have a responsibility now to revoke his ordination as a pastor? Just asking…
Whoops, I meant Arlington Heights Evangelical Free Church above. Again, I have no idea if it was the Evangelical Free Church that first ordained MacDonald as a youth pastor or not way back when, but whoever did the original ordination I would think would also have a process that could be followed to revoke ordination. It seems silver tongued preachers have the ability to pick up often where they left off without much public repentance, discipline or accountability in between ministries other than a short self-imposed exile.
Music is why I don’t attend or support churches anymore, it’s a distraction at best and evil at worse,theses corporate churches are subverting the work of Christ and people are turning away because of it,it has become entertainment which can be had everywhere these days, only when the Word is the focus is God pleased,it all looks like hollywood anymore.
This is it exactly. I’m tired of “Jesus is my boyfriend” songs. He’s my Lord and Savior, not my BF. Also sick and tired of all the pretty boy men in church-pastors and so called worship leaders. Get rid of 501c3. That will separate sheep from the goats.
So sad and this drama continues. When do people and a church be allowed to move on an heal?
What makes me sad is the constant attacks and ridicule and there is absolutely no mercy. There’s mocking and name calling. There’s assumptions. The name of some is dragged through the mud without an ounce of guilt and if they were truly seen as a brother or sister in Christ people would be more careful of the way they worded things. I am NOT talking about James or the majority of leadership at Harvest. I’m talking about the ones like Jon who made one mistake and will probably never be forgiven for it by those who one want to see everyone and everything related to Harvest destroyed. Sandy song also comes to mind. Sandy is one of the most beautiful people that I know. She has truly dedicated her whole life to the Lord. Yet many (most who do not know her at all) have implied she is a liar because she said she didn’t hear or say anything when it came to the assault from James on the plane. Yes
It is good to call out evil. And I am thankful for what Julie did to expose Harvest. That’s what led me out of that church. However, my heart breaks for some of these brothers and sisters who sincerely love the Lord and are being treated so harshly. I want to see more love, forgiveness, and mercy. Bt every time an article comes out so I see less and less of it.
Lisa,
I appreciate your heart and sincere love for your brothers and sisters. And I agree with you that ridicule and name-calling is inappropriate and unhelpful. A couple of thoughts, though . . .
One, I don’t know Jon or Sandy. But from everything I’ve heard, they’re both very kind and likeable. And as for Sandy, she told me that on flights, she would often put on earbuds and fall asleep. So, she legitimately may not have heard the commotion. That being said, Sandy said that the flight was very loud and that’s why she didn’t hear anything. However, Anne says the flight was very quiet. And recently, I re-read Andi’s statement and he wrote, “. . . the plane was a lot quieter.” Something doesn’t seem right.
Two, one of the really sad things about abusive, cult-like environments is that it causes people to do things they normally never would. I don’t personally know any of these people, but it sounds like you do. And it sounds like some of the things described are out of character for them. I grieve that anyone would be put under such unholy pressure. But that brings me to my last point.
Three, courage is a required character quality for God’s people. Nowhere in Scripture do people get a pass because they caved under pressure. Rather, it’s those moments that often become the defining moments in people’s lives. For example, Daniel refusing to follow the king’s edict to pray to no one but him; Esther risking her life to plead for her people; Jesus embracing the cross rather than calling on His angels to rescue Him.
For some reason, Christians seem to have embraced this lie that one can be moral and simultaneously cowardly–that compromise is okay if opposing evil means losing your job, or your status, or your friends. But that’s not Scriptural. In fact, Revelation 21:7-8 says: “Those who are victorious will inherit all this, and I will be their God and they will be my children. But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars—they will be consigned to the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death.” Note that the first quality named for those rejected by God is “cowardly.”
Thank God, He gives us chances to repent. Peter, who denied Christ three times, for example, was restored to ministry. But what’s been so sad and grievous to me is the lack of repentance. With the exception of Dan George and Mike Dunwoody, I haven’t heard anyone who was in leadership at Harvest truly repent. Neither has anyone from Moody, for that matter. I don’t grieve for myself, though I admit, the apologies are healing. But I grieve for those with unconfessed sin, and for their souls, and for their ministries.
There’s still time. I pray that anyone who was complicit with evil comes forward, confesses, repents, takes some time off to show the fruits of true repentance, and then seeks God for what’s next. That is the biblical way. And it’s what’s desperately needed now.
Thank you for your reply, Julie. And I do agree with you on every word. And I hope and pray that those who have wronged do indeed repent and confess. I appreciate all of the work that you have done. I just pray that as more and more info comes out, and Im sure there’s lots more, that Christians will continue to exercise the fruits of the spirit. The world is watching us and when people who call themselves Christians do not righteously judge but rather mock and make assumptions, Christianity as a whole is viewed in an negative light
Lisa, First: credit for giving examples to give your thoughts substance: that poor treatment of Sandy & Jon among others breaks your heart. That’s something we can talk about.
While possibly we’ve been following completely separate conversations, I think you might find some relief in re-reading. I’m pretty sure you’ve mixed up Sandy & someone else. From all that I’ve read, your assessment of Sandy is widely shared – that she is among the most beautiful & honest people known to people who know her. If she has harsh critics, I don’t think they are “many”. Jon … could have acted more courageously at a point of crisis. It seems widely appreciated that he folded under duress, and that the story that has come out says more about the toxic environment than about Jon. Significantly, I’m not aware of any report that he boldly presses on as if all will be well, he is right and questioning is unreasonable attack. So while he has become part of the story, he draws no ongoing personal attack that I know of. I would say that relating his part in the course of events is not personal attack.
On the other hand, there is indeed an abundance of ridicule. Would you dispute that some share of that is well earned by people boldly persisting in behavior worthy of ridicule?
Uh, did that rwong.
That’s a reply to LISA’s comment of Aug 20, 5:18am
Do any of these evangelical churches actually do evangelism?
Kind of reminds me of the un-natural tree that grows out of the mustard seed (which grows on a plant similar to broccoli) that Christ described in Matt. 13. And what lands on these tree but gospel-stealing birds of the parable of the sower.
So, you’re saying Christian Contemporary worship music is evil? Sounds like you were looking for an excuse to not go to church and found one, perhaps?
Another Harvest ministry that should be shut down forever. Good for Josh Caterer standing up to MacDonald. How much does Andi Rozier make at Harvest? Eddie Hoagland was unethical and what happens – he gets promoted to the Leadership Team. Only at Harvest. Rotten to the core.
Yes – they showed a video in church with Greg Bradshaw where they announced that a portion of the funds will be going towards a new Vertical Worship recording.
I am really getting tired of Moody being behind the learning curve. My goodness, wake up Moody; the damage being done to your own reputation by the HBC mess is staggering. Please, as an institution, “stop being stuck on stupid.” The buck stops at Mark Job’s desk
Tomas,
Unfortunately Moody will never “get ahead of the curve” because of their love for money and their lust for popularity. They are willing to compromise the Gospel for the sake of both.
Mark seems to be making good decisions, so far, but more clean out of Executives and Upper Management needs to happen. This was a radio event, are the decision makers there being held accountable? Probably not. How this event was ever scheduled is mind boggling. Moody’s lack of discernment is troubling.
One can only assume that Julie, or others, will be uncovering many more scandals in the days and weeks to come. Moody should seriously do their own private investigations into the various roomers that are swirling around the so called “elite christian leaders” they work with and determined if those roomers are true or not, to avoid further damage. But they won’t, because having a seat at the cool kids table and their money is a price they are willing to pay for the Truth of Christ.
Until Moody starts taking its role, in the Church, seriously, again, we should stop giving to them. That’s how you get their attention. They won’t respond to logic, Biblical teaching, or even Godly individuals who have their best interest in mind, they only respond to lack of funds. “Moody: The Name You Can NO LONGER Tru$t.”
You are wrong about rev.21-7,8.The people being addressed are all unbelievers.Its not referring to Christians who are cowardly.You seem to imply that a person must continually repent after every sin in order to be saved.Un confessed sin does not send a person to hell.You sound like you believe in the false “gospel”of lordship salvation.
Donald, I didn’t say anything even close to what you wrote. I was not making a point about salvation, but about pleasing God. And clearly, God expects His followers to have courage. That being said, I do believe that some day our work will be tested with fire and shown for what it is. The work of those who have built with gold, silver,or costly stones will survive. And the work of those who have built with hay, wood, or straw will be burned up. They will be saved, but “only as one escaping through the flames.” (1 Cor. 3:10-15)
Julie,my apologies.When you said you grieve for the souls of those with unconfessed sin it sounded to me like you were implying they weren’t saved.
Considering the “Christian Music Business” it is time for me to pull out, once again, the Billy Spoon quote. Billy is a Christian artist with his own recording studio. You can find his music with a simple Google search. Back in 1990 now almost 30 years ago, Billy’s home studio was so fine that it made a top 10 list in the US of a home recording studio magazine. His quote from back then, “There is absolutely nothing Christian about the Christian Music Business, it is all business!”
Things have only gotten that much worse, in my opinion, since then, as big corporations like Sony have bought up the smaller “Christian” labels. The worst I think is the commercialization of “Worship Music.” Most people spend .02 percent of their week singing songs in a church setting. Most think this is worship and that is all it is. I say that true worship is what you do the other 99.98 percent of the time. My thoughts are in line with the Skillet lead singer who Julie reposted here recently.
I once had a dream where I was shown what was going on inside the room at a “Prosperity Conference” worship time. There were multiple black demons flying around low, close to the people, and they were “inhabiting” the praise instead of the Holy Spirit. The worship was entertainment and people centered. There was zero true worship in that room. Please understand the true words of Jesus, ““No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.” True worship cannot be turned into an industry with Money as its bottom line. It flows from the hearts of people who are in love with their Lord and Master. The only celebrity at its center is the Lord Jesus Christ. It cannot be bought and sold by the big corporations of this world.
Amen
Thank you for your reply. You are correct that the new president must get a better handle on the situation in his own back yard. The push to be global can only succeed if the local givers are taken into consideration.