June 25 2009
Can Christians honestly critique each other’s music?
Tagged Under : Bob Kauflin, music, review
I was flipping through some music reviews of some worship albums and I just had to laugh because there’s no such thing as a bad review. Well actually there is, if the review is out of 10 stars, 10 is great and 9.5 is awful, they just don’t get any lower. This same attitude exists in worship bands and church leadership as a whole. Leaders many times have to walk on egg shells cause they feel if they critique the persons gifting or execution that person will get offended and leave.
As leaders we can’t be paralyzed by a fear to critique. The root of this fear is really idolatry in that our gifting is our value in the kingdom and when someone critiques it we feel devalued in the kingdom. I’m not trying to go Dr. Phil on you, but seriously why can’t I love my Christian brother and critique what he’s trying to sell me? How far does this go, am I offending someone because I didn’t buy their album?
On a twitter conversation I was having Fred McKinnon mentioned that many people’s policy is:
“If you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all”
I agree with his assessment and know that to be the case, but it’s way off in my estimation. What a bunch of babied, insecure in the gospel, little musicians we are if we have a policy of, “hey if you don’t like every single aspect of my music and aren’t prepared to just rave over it all, then don’t say anything“.
I’d like to point out an example of a honest review I did of a Sovereign Grace Christmas cd. I was worried how it would be received, but I thought it would be a disservice to Bob Kauflin if I didn’t review it honestly. I tried to give encouragement on what I thought was done well and honest, specific critique where I thought it was not done well. I was probably insensitive on some points and could have phrased things better. But even with that, Bob responded incredibly well, responded with grace. I don’t think Bob started questioning his value to the kingdom or thought I should live in eternal damnation. Bob correct me if I’m wrong 
Do you feel like you’re sinning against God or injuring your brother if you critique their music/gifting? Are you afraid to do so? Do you think that’s healthy? Am I an insensitive jerk?
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I actually think it's a disservice to our brothers if we don't critique them. You know how on american idol, especially at the beginning of every season we hear hundreds of people who couldn't carry a tune in a box but they believe they are the next Whitney Houston. They end up embarassing themselves on national TV because no one ever told them that they needed serious help. Sometimes the best way to love someone is to tell them things they don't want to hear. The only way to grow, especially if you want to be on a national level and have any kind of impact on the world is to be forced into a situation where you have to identify your weaknesses. Proverbs says "Wounds from a friend are better than kisses from an enemy".
I find that the Music section of ChristianityToday.com is very fair on their reviews. I've seen plenty of one and two star ratings, and honest critique of where the project didn't hold up. I haven't seen that kind of honesty anywhere else in Christian press…
I agree completely John Mark. Certainly much of what we don't want to hear is profitable for us. Whether it's music critique or tough scriptures.
I think the issue you've noticed has more to do with a fear of accurately reviewing paid advertisers than concerns over gifting or offense. If you make your customers upset, you tend to lose their business. It's a very fine line for music magazines to walk which is one of the reasons I don't subscribe any longer. I trust "word of mouth" recommendations, user review sites (like yelp) and my own ears.
A great example is the Bluetree album that just came out. It has about 3 song son it that are decent. The rest are incredibly amateur-ish with predictable and unimaginative lyrics and terrible arrangements. However, the album has been reviewed as though it were a genuine masterpiece! Christian website music reviews are about as objective as having your mom review your own CD.
Personally, I've been treated as though I have "a heart issue" by other bloggers when I've tried to spur honest reviews of CDs. Why can't we just objectively say that bad music is bad music – loving Jesus doesn't make it into good music!
I agree that we should be honest with each other. However, I also see a lot of snarky comments posted by Christians. Honest, kind-hearted critiques from a qualified source are great.
That would be a good Tshirt… "Loving Jesus doesn't make your music not suck" (I think the double negative serves the shirt)
Yeah there's nothing good about snarky comments, except for the word itself. I love saying snarky. As long as we agree you can be kind hearted while giving critique, that's really all I ask.
Kyle,
Yep. I don't question my value to the kingdom (zero apart from Christ) or think you should live in eternal damnation (because I'm assuming you're in Christ). Always appreciate thoughtful and honest feedback on anything Sovereign Grace does musically.
That being said, I wrote a post a while back on ten reasons to share musical opinions humbly. It's more on the personal level, but I think reviewers are "categorical" in their statements and could stand to be more nuanced or specific. Thanks for the helpful post.
Bob Kauflin
Correction to the last comment. I think reviewers "at times can be" categorical…
Appreciate the feedback Bob. Agree completely with your assessment, and humility as it relates to music and jeez just life in general, is something I definitely need the continual work of the Holy Spirit in. I appreciate your wisdom and passionate after Jesus. God bless.