I was just given a link by a friend here at the church. It was an article recently written about a new Guitar Hero type game called Guitar Praise. It’s basically a Guitar Hero replica but with Christian Rock (similar to the Dance Dance Revolution games that have been given a Christian makeover).
At first glance, I think this is cool. However, the more I think about it, and converse with my friend via e-mail, my mindset shifts. Instead of separating the church from culture, I believe we need to do as Jesus did. We need to jump right in with culture at some points. Granted, this shouldn’t happen with everything, but I believe with some, it could have great potential. I could definitely see bands like Relient K, POD, Thousand Foot Krutch, Underoath, Skillet, Pillar, and Tourniquet fitting right in with the secular stuff in the game. In fact, two bands have already gotten at least one song on the list for Guitar Hero and Rock Band. Both Flyleaf and The Myriad have songs available for download on XBox 360 and PS3. I am not sure why more Christian artists don’t jump in there too. Heck, if the music is good, people will buy it! I believe that would be better than making an entirely different game that probably won’t sell as well.
It seems, we as Christians, are often trying to fight culture and make our own things. This is not a bad idea, but it’s never going to make the same impact as someone actually stepping into the mainstream culture. Granted, this Guitar Praise game could have the goal of proving something safe for people to play, without having to worry about bad lyrics, etc. However, I think they could take it a step further and start offering more Christian music in the existing games. That way, maybe people will hear the lyrics and hear about God. Hey, stranger things have happened. We serve a God who loves to work unexpectedly. Anyhow, I’d LOVE to hear your thoughts!
[You can read Fox News’ story on Guitar Praise by clicking here.]
Steve Cullum 
Jesus did not find a Christian version of a whorehouse, he went to an actual whorehouse. But then again he did not “use” their services but rather spent time with the people there. This is one of those, we are in the world but not of the world, things.
I don’t like it. Just get over listening to some secular songs if you are going to play video games. Playing games is escapism anyway so what does it matter if you chose a more Christ-like version of wasting time. This is coming from a gamer mind you.