Things to know about Sun..
By Ps Kong - Daily devotion
In 2007, my wife Sun released a music video of the hit single “China Wine,” the result of a creative collaboration with Reggie wunderkind, Wyclef Jean. That video garnered a lot of attention on YouTube with more than two million hits over a dozen fan sites [KK to verify]. It has received rave reviews from industry insiders as well as kids who love dance pop the world over. Not surprisingly, the video also raised quite a few eyebrows among the religious fraternity who felt it is inappropriate for a Christian to be featured in a dance video.
Although Sun is married to me, she herself was never formally ordained as a minister. She never felt gifted to have a pulpit ministry. But since Sun was a child, she had participated in many singing contests and won quite a few of them. As a preacher’s wife, Sun functioned faithful from behind-the-scenes as my helpmate, and became an effective counselor and choir singer in the church.
At the turn of the millennium, as I began to formulate my doctrine on the Cultural Mandate to get my generation to come out of isolation and engage the marketplace, I challenged Sun to help me embody that message. In 2002, she launched her new career in Taiwan as a pop singer. Since then, she has done very well with more than four million units sold, five multi-platinum records, and over 30 number one songs in five different countries. Today, she is known in the Far East as a bona fide singer, entertainer and humanitarian.
From her royalties, she has built eight schools, one orphanages, two medical centers, one community services, and one charity foundation. Through her connections, she has helped to raise funds for three other orphanages, one hospital and one rehabilitation clinic. [WL, verify again.] For all these humanitarian achievements, she was awarded the Top Outstanding Young Person of the World in 2003, and became the Ambassador of the Children’s Foundation in China since 2005. In 2007, she sang the theme song for the Special Olympics in Shanghai, and last year, she sang the 2008 Olympic Anthem during the pre-game launch in Beijing. The unchurched loves Sun and view her as an exemplary model to the youths of society.
Yet, in spite of all her secular and creative achievements, many conservative pastors find it hard to imagine Sun in any role outside of church ministries. But the reality is that she is no longer a church staff or a gospel singer. She doesn’t work for any religious organization.
As a professional singer, Sun has to take on many dramatic stage personas. That is what entertainers do. In the “China Wine” video, she happens to be acting one such role. Fiction must be separated from fact. I think the struggle many pastors have is the difficulty to separate her association with me (as my wife) and her career as a singer. I agree that if she is a “pastor” or “preacher,” perhaps the video would have been inappropriate. But Sun is not a pastor. She is an entertainer. All her music videos are not produced by the church but by her secular music label, the company she is working for.
“China Wine” is a short film about a girl who has to work an extra job at a nightclub to make ends meet for her family. Some pastors immediately took offense at the club scene and sexy dancers around her. As for her costumes, she wore gym clothes which was not inappropriate for the set she had to act in. At the end of the music video, she caught her boyfriend cheating on her in the night club and confronted him in Chinese. If you understand her words, they were neither crude nor profane at all. She basically shouted at the guy, “Hey, what are you doing with this mistress?” Unfortunately, the video translator subtitled that as “Hey, what are you doing with this b****?” That final b-word caused quite an uproar among pastors, who condemned her for uttering profanities. A few of them wrote me angry emails calling Sun a “whore,” “hooker,” and in other nastier, derogatory terms. Some say she is promoting free sex and immorality. But any intelligent, objective viewer would know that the whole drama is not about sex, and if anything, to portray the reality of a fallen secular world.
All these storms in a tea cup set me thinking: Are Christians living a sanitized life? Why have “Christian” productions been so ineffective in reaching not only the unchurched, but even believers don’t want their products?
In the book, Eyes Wide Open: Looking For God in Popular Culture, by William D. Romanowski, the author talks about a 1993 survey which reported that over 80 percent of all churchgoing Christians also go to the movies. When they were asked what they think about Christian movies, TV productions and Christian Contemporary Music, these were what they say:
1. Christian popular arts are inferior imitations as compared to mainstream culture. To many, Christian music is substandard guitar pop and happy-clappy lyrics about Jesus. This is not surprising as many Christian artists feel that their main job is to preach the gospel and proclaim the faith. As such, artistic quality or creativity is not so important. But what they forget is that when people go to a movie or buy an album, their first desire is to be entertained. If they want to be preached to, they would have gone to a church!
2. Christian popular arts are unrealistic, sanitized versions of the real world. Some reviewers even use the phrase “wholesome shallowness” to describe them. Christian entertainment has come to mean movies and music appropriate for “family-only” audiences. That basically means kids-oriented programs or old-time TV reruns for senior citizens. Are Christians that naive and immature that we can’t handle the reality of our real world?
As early as 1916, Hollywood has already discovered that 60 percent of theater owners wanted pictures that portray the real world—even if they contained some violence, sex and money. This is because moviegoers want films that artistically and honestly address the issues of life. And when Christian pop arts are sanitized, what happens next is …
3. Christian popular arts are limited in content and purpose. If you listen to most CCM, you would think that all Christians do is worship and evangelize 24 hours a day, seven days a week. But people in general, Christians and non-Christians alike, don’t want to be preached to 24/7. They want a pop culture that is fun, entertaining, artistically good and innovative. They are also concerned with the issues of life—being addressed with artistic flair.
Everybody knows the trials and temptations of day-to-day living. We are not immune to problems and tensions. We are concerned about love and relationship, life and health, career and finances, the global economy and politics, war and peace, and our future. We are all trying to understand why things happen the way they do and how to live our lives properly. Pop culture helps us to navigate through all that.
People get inspired and moved by U2, the biggest band in the world now. Their music captures a sense of religious longing and the struggle of living in a world torn by war, injustice and poverty. The Matrix speaks of an invisible world behind our natural world. Schindler’s List (rated R) touches on courage, sacrifice, the dealing with racism. CHC member, Jack Neo, is probably the best movie director in Southeast Asia today. His films, I Not Stupid I and I Not Stupid II, were box office hits regionally because they realistically deal with the pressure of the rat-race in an Asian society.
Moviegoers cried buckets in theaters over these powerful songs and films. They may be secular, but people get touched by such films more so than most Christian productions. If Christian pop culture is artistically inferior, sanitized to a point that it is unrealistic, and limited in its content and purpose, then is there any surprise that when surveys were done, even churchgoers are not excited about them? No wonder Christian popular arts have a difficult time selling their products beyond small church book tables.
The beautiful truth is that God is not against pop culture. There is a section of the Old Testament known as “The Writings,” covering books like Psalms, Job, Proverbs, Songs of Solomon, Ecclesiastes and Lamentation. Honestly, aren’t they all popular songs, dramas and musicals of biblical times?
Psalms are songs of frustration, regret and anger, yet sung with love to a sometime hidden God. Isn’t that like most songs on the Billboard Chart?
Job deals with the sufferings of life, and the desire to find meaning through them. Isn’t that like the Korean TV serial __________________?
Proverbs deal with the danger of shortcuts, the snares of temptation, and the rewards of honesty. Isn’t that just like the cartoon series The Simpsons?
The Songs of Solomon is about obsession with love and the sensual. Just turn on pop radio and we have our modern-day Songs of Solomon being broadcasted 24/7.
Ecclesiastes deal with the weariness of daily living in an imperfect world. Isn’t that portrayed in movies like ______________?
Lamentations deal with grief. When one listens to most of Eric Clapton’s songs, aren’t they dealing with grief?
Like the Old Testament writings themselves, pop culture is the collective wisdom of our generation. Popular arts explore social injustice, songs of sorrow, and even tributes to women. Like the Book of Esther, they may not even mention the name of God. Like Ecclesiastes, they suggest that in this life, bad things do happen to good people. Or like the Songs of Solomon, they may celebrate romance and sex. These songs and movies may not have a salvation purpose but nonetheless, they still offer us with essential comfort and wisdom for living. As such, pop culture represents a powerful means of communicating to us what the real world is like and how to live in it.
Can you remember John the Baptist questioning the authenticity of Jesus’ ministry when he heard about Jesus’ ministry style? Jesus had become widely known as a friend of sinners, tax collectors, prostitutes and drunkards. He was even going to parties and events that the Pharisees themselves wouldn’t set foot in. John was concerned that Jesus was becoming worldly, immoral and compromising, a bad example to the disciples. Our Lord’s reply to him was simply this: “Look at my fruits. Look at how the gospel is preached. ‘And blessed is he who is not offended because of Me’” (Matt. 11:6). The Greek word for “offended” is scandalizo, which means “to trip up, stumble, or be enticed to sin.” I would say the same to those who may be offended by Sun.
The purpose of the “China Wine” music video is not meant for a church event. Neither is it ever intended to be an evangelism tool or a gospel music video. It is simply pop entertainment. People watching the video and regarding it as just that will never get offended or stumbled, which explains the millions of hits and tens of thousands of good reviews on YouTube.
So to the religious and conservative who have used nasty, derogatory and expletive terms to describe her, my part shot are the words of Jesus Christ from Matthew 21:31, “I tell you the truth, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you.”
it's important to know why Sun did what she did. it's not easy to be a celebrity and living our the message as a symbol of love and light for all. despite all the discrimination and accuses.. our heroine stands tall and steadfast.. commited to the vision of the church. Let's model after our great leaders!
In 2007, my wife Sun released a music video of the hit single “China Wine,” the result of a creative collaboration with Reggie wunderkind, Wyclef Jean. That video garnered a lot of attention on YouTube with more than two million hits over a dozen fan sites [KK to verify]. It has received rave reviews from industry insiders as well as kids who love dance pop the world over. Not surprisingly, the video also raised quite a few eyebrows among the religious fraternity who felt it is inappropriate for a Christian to be featured in a dance video.
Although Sun is married to me, she herself was never formally ordained as a minister. She never felt gifted to have a pulpit ministry. But since Sun was a child, she had participated in many singing contests and won quite a few of them. As a preacher’s wife, Sun functioned faithful from behind-the-scenes as my helpmate, and became an effective counselor and choir singer in the church.
At the turn of the millennium, as I began to formulate my doctrine on the Cultural Mandate to get my generation to come out of isolation and engage the marketplace, I challenged Sun to help me embody that message. In 2002, she launched her new career in Taiwan as a pop singer. Since then, she has done very well with more than four million units sold, five multi-platinum records, and over 30 number one songs in five different countries. Today, she is known in the Far East as a bona fide singer, entertainer and humanitarian.
From her royalties, she has built eight schools, one orphanages, two medical centers, one community services, and one charity foundation. Through her connections, she has helped to raise funds for three other orphanages, one hospital and one rehabilitation clinic. [WL, verify again.] For all these humanitarian achievements, she was awarded the Top Outstanding Young Person of the World in 2003, and became the Ambassador of the Children’s Foundation in China since 2005. In 2007, she sang the theme song for the Special Olympics in Shanghai, and last year, she sang the 2008 Olympic Anthem during the pre-game launch in Beijing. The unchurched loves Sun and view her as an exemplary model to the youths of society.
Yet, in spite of all her secular and creative achievements, many conservative pastors find it hard to imagine Sun in any role outside of church ministries. But the reality is that she is no longer a church staff or a gospel singer. She doesn’t work for any religious organization.
As a professional singer, Sun has to take on many dramatic stage personas. That is what entertainers do. In the “China Wine” video, she happens to be acting one such role. Fiction must be separated from fact. I think the struggle many pastors have is the difficulty to separate her association with me (as my wife) and her career as a singer. I agree that if she is a “pastor” or “preacher,” perhaps the video would have been inappropriate. But Sun is not a pastor. She is an entertainer. All her music videos are not produced by the church but by her secular music label, the company she is working for.
“China Wine” is a short film about a girl who has to work an extra job at a nightclub to make ends meet for her family. Some pastors immediately took offense at the club scene and sexy dancers around her. As for her costumes, she wore gym clothes which was not inappropriate for the set she had to act in. At the end of the music video, she caught her boyfriend cheating on her in the night club and confronted him in Chinese. If you understand her words, they were neither crude nor profane at all. She basically shouted at the guy, “Hey, what are you doing with this mistress?” Unfortunately, the video translator subtitled that as “Hey, what are you doing with this b****?” That final b-word caused quite an uproar among pastors, who condemned her for uttering profanities. A few of them wrote me angry emails calling Sun a “whore,” “hooker,” and in other nastier, derogatory terms. Some say she is promoting free sex and immorality. But any intelligent, objective viewer would know that the whole drama is not about sex, and if anything, to portray the reality of a fallen secular world.
All these storms in a tea cup set me thinking: Are Christians living a sanitized life? Why have “Christian” productions been so ineffective in reaching not only the unchurched, but even believers don’t want their products?
In the book, Eyes Wide Open: Looking For God in Popular Culture, by William D. Romanowski, the author talks about a 1993 survey which reported that over 80 percent of all churchgoing Christians also go to the movies. When they were asked what they think about Christian movies, TV productions and Christian Contemporary Music, these were what they say:
1. Christian popular arts are inferior imitations as compared to mainstream culture. To many, Christian music is substandard guitar pop and happy-clappy lyrics about Jesus. This is not surprising as many Christian artists feel that their main job is to preach the gospel and proclaim the faith. As such, artistic quality or creativity is not so important. But what they forget is that when people go to a movie or buy an album, their first desire is to be entertained. If they want to be preached to, they would have gone to a church!
2. Christian popular arts are unrealistic, sanitized versions of the real world. Some reviewers even use the phrase “wholesome shallowness” to describe them. Christian entertainment has come to mean movies and music appropriate for “family-only” audiences. That basically means kids-oriented programs or old-time TV reruns for senior citizens. Are Christians that naive and immature that we can’t handle the reality of our real world?
As early as 1916, Hollywood has already discovered that 60 percent of theater owners wanted pictures that portray the real world—even if they contained some violence, sex and money. This is because moviegoers want films that artistically and honestly address the issues of life. And when Christian pop arts are sanitized, what happens next is …
3. Christian popular arts are limited in content and purpose. If you listen to most CCM, you would think that all Christians do is worship and evangelize 24 hours a day, seven days a week. But people in general, Christians and non-Christians alike, don’t want to be preached to 24/7. They want a pop culture that is fun, entertaining, artistically good and innovative. They are also concerned with the issues of life—being addressed with artistic flair.
Everybody knows the trials and temptations of day-to-day living. We are not immune to problems and tensions. We are concerned about love and relationship, life and health, career and finances, the global economy and politics, war and peace, and our future. We are all trying to understand why things happen the way they do and how to live our lives properly. Pop culture helps us to navigate through all that.
People get inspired and moved by U2, the biggest band in the world now. Their music captures a sense of religious longing and the struggle of living in a world torn by war, injustice and poverty. The Matrix speaks of an invisible world behind our natural world. Schindler’s List (rated R) touches on courage, sacrifice, the dealing with racism. CHC member, Jack Neo, is probably the best movie director in Southeast Asia today. His films, I Not Stupid I and I Not Stupid II, were box office hits regionally because they realistically deal with the pressure of the rat-race in an Asian society.
Moviegoers cried buckets in theaters over these powerful songs and films. They may be secular, but people get touched by such films more so than most Christian productions. If Christian pop culture is artistically inferior, sanitized to a point that it is unrealistic, and limited in its content and purpose, then is there any surprise that when surveys were done, even churchgoers are not excited about them? No wonder Christian popular arts have a difficult time selling their products beyond small church book tables.
The beautiful truth is that God is not against pop culture. There is a section of the Old Testament known as “The Writings,” covering books like Psalms, Job, Proverbs, Songs of Solomon, Ecclesiastes and Lamentation. Honestly, aren’t they all popular songs, dramas and musicals of biblical times?
Psalms are songs of frustration, regret and anger, yet sung with love to a sometime hidden God. Isn’t that like most songs on the Billboard Chart?
Job deals with the sufferings of life, and the desire to find meaning through them. Isn’t that like the Korean TV serial __________________?
Proverbs deal with the danger of shortcuts, the snares of temptation, and the rewards of honesty. Isn’t that just like the cartoon series The Simpsons?
The Songs of Solomon is about obsession with love and the sensual. Just turn on pop radio and we have our modern-day Songs of Solomon being broadcasted 24/7.
Ecclesiastes deal with the weariness of daily living in an imperfect world. Isn’t that portrayed in movies like ______________?
Lamentations deal with grief. When one listens to most of Eric Clapton’s songs, aren’t they dealing with grief?
Like the Old Testament writings themselves, pop culture is the collective wisdom of our generation. Popular arts explore social injustice, songs of sorrow, and even tributes to women. Like the Book of Esther, they may not even mention the name of God. Like Ecclesiastes, they suggest that in this life, bad things do happen to good people. Or like the Songs of Solomon, they may celebrate romance and sex. These songs and movies may not have a salvation purpose but nonetheless, they still offer us with essential comfort and wisdom for living. As such, pop culture represents a powerful means of communicating to us what the real world is like and how to live in it.
Can you remember John the Baptist questioning the authenticity of Jesus’ ministry when he heard about Jesus’ ministry style? Jesus had become widely known as a friend of sinners, tax collectors, prostitutes and drunkards. He was even going to parties and events that the Pharisees themselves wouldn’t set foot in. John was concerned that Jesus was becoming worldly, immoral and compromising, a bad example to the disciples. Our Lord’s reply to him was simply this: “Look at my fruits. Look at how the gospel is preached. ‘And blessed is he who is not offended because of Me’” (Matt. 11:6). The Greek word for “offended” is scandalizo, which means “to trip up, stumble, or be enticed to sin.” I would say the same to those who may be offended by Sun.
The purpose of the “China Wine” music video is not meant for a church event. Neither is it ever intended to be an evangelism tool or a gospel music video. It is simply pop entertainment. People watching the video and regarding it as just that will never get offended or stumbled, which explains the millions of hits and tens of thousands of good reviews on YouTube.
So to the religious and conservative who have used nasty, derogatory and expletive terms to describe her, my part shot are the words of Jesus Christ from Matthew 21:31, “I tell you the truth, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you.”
it's important to know why Sun did what she did. it's not easy to be a celebrity and living our the message as a symbol of love and light for all. despite all the discrimination and accuses.. our heroine stands tall and steadfast.. commited to the vision of the church. Let's model after our great leaders!
Labels: Sun
posted by "s0n|c'C@libr3,, at
1:36 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home