Bob Jones Sr. must be spinining in his grave. See "Questions Arise..." Rick Warren was jumping up and down. See "Former Saddleback Church singer..." Turns out that at least two of the finalists on American Idol have a strong church connection. Chris Sligh, the son of Baptist missionaries, attended Bob Jones University for seven semesters but left short of graduating. He now leads a worship band at Seacoast Church, a multi-site church with campuses in Charleston, SC and other cities. Several other contestants this year have strong church ties.

So it brings me back to the question I posed last time I wrote: Is the world affecting the church or is the church affecting the world? Has the "modern" church gotten so worldly that those who sing in church easily make a seamless transition to the world? Or has the church's desire to reflect God's glory by doing things with excellence finally brought the church to a place where the world will listen because these musicians have quality in their presentation equal to the world?

Signed,
"Just wondering in NoVA"