Have you communicated with your furniture today?

So I just finished watching this documentary about the Nashville Christian Music Machine, and one of the featured bands was a group of brothers hailing from southern Alberta, called Jake.

Actually, I guess the name "Jake" has been copyrighted, because for "legal reasons" they have to go by "The Penner Brothers" in the U.S. now. (Jake is a much cooler name, no?) Anyway, from what I heard on the documentary, their music is pretty good ... if I was into boy bands, I'd probably dig it. But the reason I mention them is this ... when interviewed, one of the three Penners said something that had me rolling on the floor and guffawing in amusement:

God can speak through our music.
God can speak through whatever he wants.
If he wanted to, he could even speak through our sofa.

Whoa, dude. Now that's heavy. Next time I need some advice, I know where I'm sittin'.

Now don't get me wrong. I do not disagree with Mr. Penner's theology, per se. Rather, I am endlessly amused by the thought of divine revelation couched in such an ordinary object. Hee hee.

During the documentary I also contracted a severe case of "the creeps" when listening to the monlogues of the prez of Reunion Records.

He as much as admitted that when it comes to the Christian Music Machine (he did not call it that), looks are just as (if not more) important than talent. And later, he asserted that it is not God's will for Christian businesses to fail. At least, it's not God's will for his business to fail! I don't know about all of you, but it's my impression that success and good looks were not necessarily important strategies in Jesus' mission. Come to think of it, did Jesus have anything that resembled a strategy? Or did he just live in love for God and other folks too?

This documentary made me want to boycott Reunion Records, especially after the prez made one of the Penner brothers un-dye his blue hair (it didn't support the image they were marketing). Happily, the band Jake is no longer affiliated with Reunion. So I can still explore Jake's jingles without violating my boycott. Come to think of it, boycotting Reunion Records won't change my life much. Most of the music I've been buying lately is more of the Norah Jones or Van Morrisson or John Denver variety.

Why can't good music just be good music? Why must we box everything up with a nice neat label, shelving it away for future reference?