Skillet Singer: ‘Cool’ Leaders Should Not Have the Most Influence In Christendom

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Saying that “it’s too important not to” speak out, Skillet’s lead singer, John L. Cooper, has written a Facebook post with his reaction to the high profile leaders who have recently renounced Christianity. Cooper shares several insights and exhortations for Christians in light of what he perceives is happening in the church at large.

“My conclusion for the church (all of us Christians): We must STOP making worship leaders and thought leaders or influencers or cool people or ‘relevant’ people the most influential people in Christendom,” he says, “(And yes that includes people like me!).” 

Skillet is a Christian hard rock band that was formed in 1996. To date, the band has released 15 albums, been nominated for two Grammys, and won multiple Dove awards. In an interview a few years ago, Cooper told CBN News that the band has always been about Jesus. He said, “What I am most proud about Skillet is that we have never one time been embarrassed of our Christian faith. I’ve never one time said, ‘No, we’re not a Christian band,’ and tried to dance around it.”

John L. Cooper Asks, ‘What is happening?’

Cooper told CBN that when doing interviews with secular radio stations, people often want him to feel embarrassed about being in a Christian band, expecting him to deny that Skillet is one. But, he said, “without fail, every single time I’ve looked them in the eye, and I’ve said, ‘Absolutely, we’re a Christian band. We are not embarrassed about it at all.'”

Yet in the past few weeks, influencers such as former pastor and writer Josh Harris and former Hillsong United member Marty Sampson have rocked (no pun intended) the evangelical world by announcing they are no longer Christians. In the wake of these announcements, Cooper is asking, “What is happening in Christianity?” 

Cooper’s first conclusion is that the church must stop relying so much on popular leaders as a source of truth: “We now have a church culture that learns who God is from singing modern praise songs rather than from the teachings of the Word.” Cooper says he is not trying to be rude to his friends who are worship leaders, and he stresses the importance of what worship ministers do by creating “a moment and a vehicle for God to speak.”

However, he thinks many of his worship leader friends would agree with him that it is dangerous to look to leaders over the Bible. Cooper writes, “Singers are not always the best people to write solid bible truth and doctrine. Sometimes we are too young, too ignorant of scripture, too unaware, or too unconcerned about the purity of scripture and the holiness of the God we are singing to.”

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Jessica Lea
Jessica is a content editor for ChurchLeaders.com and the producer of The Stetzer ChurchLeaders Podcast. She has always had a passion for the written word and has been writing professionally for the past five years. When Jessica isn't writing, she enjoys West Coast Swing dancing, reading, and spending time with her friends and family.

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