In the ‘70s and ‘80s, punk bands were often hailed as radical or revolutionary, challenging social conventions. Some bands today like to wear “revolutionary” images and take political or social stands in their lyrics, as well. But if Paul had had a band, their commitment to the greatest cause of all would have outplayed any other band in history. If Paul had had a band, they would have radically poured themselves out, sacrificially serving the cause of the Gospel.

I recently watched a documentary about the Maidan Revolution in Ukraine. The boldness and determination of the Ukrainian people fighting for their freedom was shocking. Many lost their lives defying the authorities and going against armed police battalions with sticks and stones. They fought for a political change and a temporal freedom.

Jesus grew up in a storytelling culture. The Greeks told fables, and the Jewish rabbis spoke in “mashal,” a very common oral and literary art form used when teaching the Torah. Storytelling was possibly the most well-known and appreciated art form of that time, and it is still very present in Middle Eastern culture and tradition today.

If Paul had a band, he would care deeply about his audience. Not in the sense that we often do in the music scene: caring if people like our Facebook page, come to our shows, enjoy our music and buy our merch. Paul would care about the spiritual growth and well-being of his audience. He always cared about how others were doing in their walk with Jesus.

Good art is a powerful expression of the artist’s worldview. The fact is that every artistic expression carries something of a worldview, whether or not the artist or

One of my favorite street artists is the infamous and yet somehow anonymous Banksy from the UK. What intrigues me is his creative way of asking powerful questions that make you stop and think again about things that we often just accept as normal.

Back in 2010 my band started playing a few shows in the busy hardcore scene of Guarulhos, São Paulo (Brazil). One time a few of the members of another band came over and said, “I like your message, we want to share this message in our band too!”

Following and sharing Jesus in the art and music scene often presents dilemmas - how should we live in this world today? What does it mean to be a follower of Jesus in the scene I’m part of? What can and can’t we do? What is sinful and what is just cultural? It seems that as the church we often fall in one of two extremes: either in our search for holiness we become isolated and alienated, not relating to the culture around us; or we sell out to the culture and forget our values and identity as a follower of Jesus. So how do we get this right?

Some years ago we toured Eastern Turkey. It was one of the hardest tours I’ve ever been on. In the van on the way the organiser told us about radical Islamists in the area beating women for wearing the wrong clothes. I wondered how our show might go down there. We arrived in one town to play an outdoor concert and found a hole in the ground in the place where the stage was supposed to be.

Any band or artist concerned with souls will be carrying a spiritual burden. Any band or artist sharing Jesus and praying for conversion and transformation will be entering a spiritual battle. The fight is real. If you’re in this more for your art or “making it” as a band, then you don’t need to worry about that. You might get naturally tired, but it’s nothing like the spiritual burden and battle you enter when you step into enemy territory to proclaim the good news.