There’s an ongoing debate in Christian music about whether artists should label themselves “Christian” or not. Some do, and others don’t. It’s a personal thing, for sure, but let me share with you one reason why it’s important to be honest and open about who you are and what you believe.
The indie Christian band Blueprints of the Heart lost their drummer, Carlos J. Montes de Oca (Shorty to his friends) last week in a car accident. The 16-year-old Westfield, MA teenager was a passenger in a car that hit a tree, killing him and injuring four other occupants.
I’ve never heard of the band, but I went and listened to a few songs on MySpace. They’re pretty good. They were heading out to do a tour in February, which they have on hold for now. And that’s all well and good, too.

But in his death, no one had to question what Shorty believed in.The stories in the local MA newspapers have highlighted his participation in a Christian band.
This is kind of a difficult subject for me, because a few years ago I lost a friend, John Sharpe, a fantastic young man who was like a son to me. John was also a musician. He died in a really freak accident at work when he was just 21. But he died with everyone knowing that John loved Jesus, and John loved music. He was cool, he was fun, he was hip – and he never hid his faith. (John’s family have started a ministry called John’s Room, and hope to open a facility where bands can play and kids can come and hear great music and meet Jesus.)
So when I saw this story, I wanted to share it with you, and ask: if you’re a Christian music artist, in your quest to be relevant does your faith still shine through? I don’t care if you call yourself a Christian band or a Christian in a band. Do the people you meet know that you love Jesus? That you have a personal relationship with the Savior, who died as a substitue for our sins? That there is an eternity, and that we’ll be held accountable for the lives we led and who we put first? If tomorrow, someone wrote a news story about you, whether it was your obit or just a profile of your success, and they couldn’t ask you any questions, would they know that you’re a Christian? Would they highlight that in the story, or would they talk about your cool t-shirts and your expensive recording sessions and your hit songs?
I don’t mean to be morbid, but this news story just resonated with me, I guess.