Caleb is adamant about the Christian rock. Someone gave him the digits for the big Christian rock station, and so now he dials them in on his radio. Ordinarily I wouldn’t allow any radio other than baseball games, but since it’s rock about Jesus, I feel wicked telling him no. It’s not the Jesus part I’m opposed to, after all, just the unartful licks and painfully trite lyrics.
In an effort to steer the boy in a better direction, I made a CD for him. He refused outright my offer to put on some blues or jazz. “Christian rock, Dad. I want Christian rock.” I told him that’s what I’d put on there, only some that’s better than what he’s likely to hear on the radio.
So I loaded it up with tolerable Christian rock. Lifehouse, because their lyrics are thoughtful. Jars of Clay because their Who We Are Instead album has some nice gospel-sounding, bluesy numbers. Kutless because if you’re going to do Christian rock, then let’s rock. As Sheryl Crow says, this ain’t no disco.
I also put on a Sam Cooke gospel number, along with Johnny Cash’s “God’s Gonna Cut You Down.” Redemption can be a slow process. One song at a time, I’m going to win this boy back from the beige side.
