“On a recent Wednesday night at the 92nd Street Y, longtime Rolling Stone editor Anthony DeCurtis interviewed Aretha Franklin about her forthcoming album. It was the first public preview, and I was placed on the guest list because of a connection I have to Mr. DeCurtis. After the interview, the audience was invited to submit questions. I asked Aretha what affect growing up in the church had on her career.”

Richard Niebuhr’s seminal work Christ and Culture was the most-discussed book during my time as a student at Fuller Seminary. It showed up on nearly every class reading list and was a constant source of conversation — for good reason. In it, Niebuhr provides both a description of and prescription for followers of Jesus to engage their culture.

Years later, I still find myself looking back to Niebuhr’s words, particularly being a pastor in New York City, a place full of art and culture. That’s one of the reasons I love doing ministry here — not just because I can engage the art, but also the artists. I try to take the time to listen to their work and identify the questions and longings behind it.

But we need to be reminded that we bring our Christian worldview with us when we enter the doors of a museum and a concert hall. If we are to live out the “Christ transforming culture” model that Niebuhr espouses, we have to be fully engaged. We have to reflect deeply. We have to ask hard questions, even of our brothers and sisters in Christ.

Lately I’ve been reflecting on three pieces of “Christian art.” The forthcoming record Aretha Franklin Sings the Great Diva Classics, Lecrae’s new record Anomaly and the recently released film Left Behind. Stay with me, and I’ll show you how each one has something to teach us about how Christians should engage art.

We need to look for signs of the Kingdom in every song.

On a recent Wednesday night at the 92nd Street Y, longtime Rolling Stone editor Anthony DeCurtis interviewed Aretha Franklin about her forthcoming album. It was the first public preview, and I was placed on the guest list because of a connection I have to Mr. DeCurtis. After the interview, the audience was invited to submit questions. I asked Aretha what affect growing up in the church had on her career.

She told stories of traveling around with her father, the Rev. Dr. C.L. Franklin. They would tour city auditoriums — she would sing and Dr. Franklin would preach. Gospel music has always been in her veins. She told us how she learned how to truly believe in a song, how to sing it as though souls were at stake. She said she never left the church, but that at the age of 18, she decided she wanted to sing all kinds of music. I don’t know all the intricacies of her journey, but she implied that while she never left the church, the church left her.

When we engage the arts, we must remember that the church has a long history of supporting those on “our team” and excluding those who are not. Aretha has had an incredible career — named the greatest singer of all time by Rolling Stone — but too often Christians have stayed in our silos and missed out. We are much better off when we look for signs of the Kingdom in every song that is sung.

People listen to the gospel if they respect the messenger.

Which brings me to Lecrae, the Christian hip-hop artist who’s had a particularly good past few weeks. His album Anomaly debuted on September 23 and was the best-selling record in the country. It was the first time an album topped the Billboard 200 and the Gospel Albums chart. I recently bought the album and listened to it a number a times. It is good art. The production is incredible. It is mixed well. The lyrics are at times poignant, at times challenging. Lecrae raps about issues ranging from abortion to abuse to immigration, all interesting aspects of our culture that we are called to engage.

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