Coachella: "Little Shell"

The Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival is held in Indio, CA where hundreds of thousands of individuals gather to see & hear their favorite artists.

Coachella comes from a misspelling of the valley's old name, Conchilla, from a Spanish word meaning "little shell" that referenced the fossil shells found in the area. I've decided that Justin Bieber was Coachella's "little shell" this year.

Roughly 125,000 people attend Coachella. Justin Bieber performed at Coachella & chose to sing Reckless Love by Bethel, Tremble by Mosaic, & All I need Is You by Hillsong United. Justin chose to use his performance as a platform to God. He was that "little shell" that opened as a gateway for thousands of individuals to experience the atmosphere of the Holy One, & that shell cannot be closed now. Those pre-teens, teens, & young adults that idolize him and many other non-Christian genre singers may have experienced an unexpected place of worship for the very first time.

Will he receive potential backlash from Hollywood critics? Probably. Will Justin receive surprising praise & support from Christians now? Maybe. Why now? Here's why: So many individuals look shamefully down on many public worldly music artists because of the inappropriate messages they send to pre-teens, teens, and young adults through their lyric choice. We tend to write them off for "clearly not a Christian" solely based on their genre not being labeled as "Christian." Individuals may have viewed Justin as a bad influential contributor to the brokenness-of-this-world pop singer BEFORE he used his platform for Jesus. But now that his platform changed (one time), many Christians are supporting him because those songs sang fell under the "Christian" genre. Selective judging at its finest.

I have a different view. (Again, subjective to my personal opinion/experiences).

Not every Christian has a Christian genre label. For example, Carrie Underwood is one of the most successful country artists & also is a publicly devout Christian. I do not listen to all genres of music this world offers & cannot testify to every type to decide if it would hinder my personal walk and growth as a Christian, but I as a Christ-follower, have the spirit of conviction naturally, so I know God will convict me if certain music is hindering me from reaching him in my daily walk.

Music sends verbal messages, nonverbal messages, & hidden meanings through their lyrics; that is what music is intended for. They are stories that describe & relate to many souls across various cultures. Can I relate 100% of my life to Christian songs only? Yes. But can I relate a portion of my life to other genre songs? Yes, absolutely. Songs, regardless of genre, remind me of events, memories, & people in my life that have left a life-long imprint.

Woman, Amen (Country genre) still gives me all the emotional feels every time I listen to it because the lyrics depict perfectly how much I cherish Clay & our love without end.

Chandelier (Pop genre) brings me back to when my childhood best friend, Gabby & I heard this for the first time in Florida & could not get over how high the song is sung. We overplayed this song that trip just because of that soprano note that made us laugh uncontrollably.

I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Contemporary R&B/Pop genre) was the groovy song we choose to enter into our wedding reception for the first time publicly as Mr. & Mrs. Stoner.

Take Me Home, Country Roads (Folk/Country genre) will forever remind me of driving through the streets of my old college town with my husband, reminiscing on all our incredible memories there.

Single Ladies (Pop genre) always gives me a good laugh while I picture my marine sis, Anika, trying to keep up with Beyoncé’s dance moves at our Marine Wife TBS Goodbye Night.

Sure, I can easily make the argument that Miley Cyrus singing Wrecking Ball while swinging from said ball half clothed is 0% relatable, memorable, or appropriate, but remember, not all non-Christian music is Miley Cyrus-y.

My thoughts on music are not to encourage non-Christian ways of living. I merely am recognizing that labeling someone/something/a genre with a blanket of "holy" or "unholy," or assuming one's walk with God is not strong enough because of music, is not my take on the music realm of our world.

With fame comes more followers than any of us will ever have in 12 lifetimes combined. Justin's "little shell" performance allowed the Christian genre to reach Coachella, regardless of his genre.

That is God goin' viral. Genre, irrelevant.