Tag: concert

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Gay-Affirming ‘Switchfoot’ Singer Jon Foreman Snaps Pic Hugging Queer ‘Christian’ Artist

Two years ago, Jon Foreman, the frontman of the legendary Christian band Switchfoot, responded to the coaxing of a queer “Christian” artist questioning his pro-LGBTQ+ creds, telling her that LGBTQ+ people are always welcome at his concerts and that he supports gay rights and freedoms. 

Though less prominent than she is now, that person was Semler, the foul-mouthed singer we last saw attending the Dove Awards with Caedmon’s Call’s cross-dressing singer Derek Webb. A pro-choice non-binary lesbian who is currently ‘married’ and expecting a baby with her ‘spouse,’ she expressed her belief that Christians are disproportionately harmful to LGBTQ people, and so her practice was to wear her Pride shirt to concerts and shout out “Gay rights!” in between songs and then tagging the band on TikTok, hoping that they’ll respond to her in an affirming message and not do some bait and switch like “I love you too.”

By “gay rights” she means the right to marry, the right to be free from discrimination, the right to access any bathroom they or transgendered allies choose, and a host of other ones. According to Semler, because Christians have been specific in their hurt, they need to be specific in their affirmation.

Lead singer Jon Foreman did not disappoint, responding to her in a way that left her feeling completely affirmed. After shouting out “gay rights” at one of his shows and tagging him on social media, Foreman responded to her personally in a TikTok video, saying:

“I saw your story and wanted to respond and tell you, ‘Yes, I support your rights and freedoms.’ I want you to feel loved and supported…. May you find peace, truth, and love on your journey. Keep writing songs, keep creating beauty, keep reaching out, and keep being honest, chasing beauty and truth and light and love.”

Semler took his words to heart, explaining that her takeaway is that the band is LGBTQ-affirming, and wanting him to confirm and clarify, which he did in the form of a little “like.”

I don’t know if you know how meaningful that affirmation was. I am interpreting what you said as being affirming. If I’m incorrect in that, then I really hope you would clarify. Because I think for many queer people of faith, the bait and switch of hearing such encouraging words like yours and then finding out it means something else is heartbreaking.

It’s no surprise that Semler, whose songs contain many references to Switchfoot and whose heart he did not break, attended their concert armed with a VIP pass in tow. She posted a picture on social media with their arms around each other and fists raised, captioned: “A lot can happen in two years. I had a great birthday.”

Sadly, Switchfoot and Foreman continue to show why they’ve joined the ranks of other formerly-Christian-and-now gay-affirming-bands we’ve catalogued, including Amy Grant, Jennifer Knapp, Jars of Clay, DC Talk’s Kevin Max, Relient K, Caedmon’s Call, The Rend Collective, Five Iron Frenzy, Plumb, and Sara Groves,

What an ugly letdown.

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Would you Pay $2480.30 For Tickets to a Steven Furtick/ Elevation Worship Concert?

Last year we criticized the expensive prices that tickets to see Steven Furtick and The Elevation Worship band cost, questioning whether or not it made sense from a financial or spiritual perspective. Individual tickets ranged from about $38 for the nosebleeds, up to $195 for front-row access, with most tickets in the 50-110$ range.

If $100 or $200 for tickets seems like a lot to hear what is ostensibly the house band, don’t forget that Furtick once joined T.D. Jakes for a Christian conference where some tickets were $1000 each.

Well, he’s on tour again this year, and in some cases, tickets have skyrocketed. During his concert earlier in the year, the best seats in the house would cost $1056.70 for two. For this leg, Furtick will be joining the 8-night Elevation Nights tour to give a little sermonette before each performance, and then the band will perform some of their worship hits like “Graves Into Gardens,” “RATTLE!,” “Do It Again,” “The Blessing.”

They’ll be seeing over 100,000 people, from nearly sold-out venues like the 17,500-person Kia Forum in Inglewood, California, to the 20,000-capacity seating at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

While tickets can still be gotten for $34 up in the nosebleeds, many of them cost $100-200, and if you want closer seating to be nearer to the hem of Steven Furtick’s garments, it’ll cost you. 

If you want to buy them directly from Ticketmaster- never resold but original platinum seats, they’ll cost you $1085.25. + fees per ticket, or two for $2480.30. If you’re coming in from Canada, that’ll cost you a whopping $3430.34 with the exchange rate. There is no meet-and-greet or extra perks with these tickets, but rather are standalone prices.

I suppose for some, paying this makes all the sense in the world.

Steven Furtick is the Lead Pastor of Elevation Church. As head of a Southern Baptist-associated, 25,000-member multisite campus with 17 locations, he is known for having the term “narcegesis” (narcissistic exegesis) named after him based on his inability to exegete scripture in a way that doesn’t make every story revolve around him, as well as his penchant to wear outfits that cost more than most mortgages and buddying up to Trinity-Denier T.D Jakes.

Last year he replaced Kenneth Copeland at the always-heretical TBN, filling the role of the Innkeeper Monsieur Thénardier from the musical Les Miserables (TBN being the Inn), with these “Masters of the house” doing whatever is the theological equivalent of “Charge ’em for the lice/Extra for the mice/Two percent for looking in the mirror twice” in his efforts to promote his brand of prosperity preaching.

He also recently said that ‘God is a Molecular Structure’, laughed at the notion of ‘Twerking for the Lord?’, went on a Wild, Wild, Willllldd Rant about Betas and Blessings, went on another Rant About Angels that got Weird Quick and screamed ‘I Am God Almighty!’ in a sermon. All that while saying that God Doesn’t Make You into a New Creation.

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Chris Tomlin and Hillsong Tour Removes ‘VIP Ticket Packages’ Amid Backlash

The megaworship concert featuring Chris Tomlin and Hillsong has dialed back some of the more nakedly commercial aspects of their upcoming worship tour, with Premiere Productions, the organization in charge of tickets and putting on the event, pulling one of the add-ons and rebranding them as ‘Experience packages’ rather than ‘VIP experiences, followng backlash on social media. See the before/ after pictures;/

We had previously written:

For an event supposed to be designed to worship the Lord, this reeks of money-lovin’ and mammon-grubbin’ commercialism, offering multiple perks and add-on’s such as closer seats to the band, gifts, merch, lanyards, the ability to shop for merch early, early check-in with a host, and some degree of access to bands so you can bask in their presence. We support any band hocking their wares, as capitalism is a gift from God. But the fact that this is a worship event makes it feel unseemly.

We reached out to Hillsong and Tomlin’s reps but have not received a response.

Premiere Christianity, which has been covering the story, had a nice op-ed from Tom Read, where he writes:

“Looking through the various options available (of which there are a few), I can’t help but wonder: how could anyone think that this is a good idea in the context of worship? Many of us are well aware that the worship music industry has a thinly-veiled but dark underbelly of commercialism. But here, they don’t even seem to be trying to hide it anymore. Worship music, and much of the contemporary church, has a celebrity problem. And it’s about time we started talking about it…

MODERN-DAY WORSHIP HAS BECOME SO CORRUPT THAT I HAVE LITTLE DOUBT THAT JESUS WOULD FLIP THE TABLES ON MUCH OF IT

Looking at this latest offer through even the most charitable eyes, it’s hard to see it as anything other than a money-making opportunity…What about worship concerts then? Should we ever pay to attend a worship event? Some people argue that worshipping God should always be free.

While I don’t disagree with this opinion, I do think there is also a strong (and biblical) argument to be made for artists and ministers being fairly paid for what they do. This is certainly the case when it comes to covering the costs of events and other projects. But let’s be honest, there’s a significant difference between paying an artist for their work and buying VIP tickets so you can have a photo on a catwalk at a worship event. What is so problematic here is the leveraging of the worship of God for the creation of personal fame and fortune…

Visibility matters. Leaders have a responsibility to set an example they would be proud for people to follow. Are Christian VIP experiences something we really want to encourage?