\n<\/p>\n
I still remember the crunchy, dissonant chords coming through the speakers of my music history classroom and the repetition of the phrase, \u201cAre you washed in the blood of the Lamb?\u201d<\/p>\n
We were studying Charles Ives\u2019s modern American art song about the founder of the Salvation Army\u2014\u201cGeneral William Booth Enters into Heaven\u201d<\/a>\u2014and even as I tried to navigate the cacophonous chords and angular vocal lines in my score, I found the language and themes familiar and meaningful.<\/p>\n But the clarinet player sitting next to me had a different reaction. He leaned over and whispered, \u201cGross.\u201d<\/p>\n Those of us who have grown up in the church singing songs like \u201cThere Is a Fountain,\u201d \u201cNothing but the Blood,\u201d and \u201cThe Wonderful Cross\u201d are used to singing about blood. Christ\u2019s crucifixion and resurrection are the center of our faith, and the blood spilled from the body of God incarnate is a symbol and physical reality for those who believe.<\/p>\n So when Elevation Church opted to avoid words or phrases like blood of Jesus<\/em> in promotional materials for this year\u2019s Easter services, a chorus of online voices<\/a> accused the megachurch and its pastor, Steven Furtick, of watering down the gospel.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re not going to use the words Calvary<\/em>, resurrection<\/em>, or the phrase the blood of Jesus<\/em>. We won\u2019t use language that will immediately make someone feel like an outsider,\u201d said Nicki Shearer, Elevation\u2019s digital content creator, in an interview<\/a> with Pro Church Tools.<\/p>\n \u201cIf you talk to someone who doesn\u2019t know Christ, they are never going to use the word resurrection<\/em> \u2026 Jesus came back to life again after dying for us. I\u2019d rather say that. It\u2019s clearer,\u201d she clarified.<\/p>\n