So I don’t listen to Christian radio any more, but Becky had it on in the van over the weekend, and on Sunday morning when I started the van to head to church, this song came on, and it’s driving me crazy. I’ve been frustrated with shallow and trite lyrics before, but I think this song takes the cake. To be fair, I’ll quote the whole song:

Some people tell me that I look kind of funny
My nose is red and the braces didn’t work at all
They say the clothes I wear are all out of fashion
I don’t fit in and should be shopping at a different mall
I studied classical piano when I could’ve been playing guitar
I used to drive an El Camino and I’m not even sure it’s a car
(chorus)
I’m not cool but that’s okay
My God loves me anyway
I’m not cool but that’s alright
I’m still precious in His sight
I’m not cool but I don’t care
How I’m supposed to do my hair
I’m not cool but that’s okay
My God loves me anyway

It doesn’t matter if I know all the lingo
He doesn’t mind if I’m not hanging with a certain crowd
Some people still believe in building image
≥ But I am fine and that’s a worry I can do without
I used to wish I was athletic but football was never my game
I met some friends in mathematics but no one can spell my last name

chorus

He says that I am one of a kind
And I don’t have to try to be somebody else
He believes in me and says I’m free to be myself
I can be myself

(I’m Not Cool - Scott Krippayne)

Becky has warned me that ripping on this song will just make me come across as a music snob. I’m probably guilty as charged… but I’ve gotta say something. In no particular order:

First thought: This could be the theme song for all of Christian Radio these days. The music they play is so out-of-date and repetitive… don’t get me started. It’s the same stuff I was hearing on Christian radio when I listened to it back in high school. And I graduated high school in 1995.

Second thought: There’s a fine line between saying “it’s OK if I’m not cool” and saying “I don’t need to be culturally relevant”. I understand what Krippayne is trying to say with the song. It’s supposed to be an encouragement to that poor socially-inept person who feels “uncool” and rejected by their peers. OK, great. But it’s a very short trip from that to saying “it doesn’t matter whether I’m in touch culturally or not”, which is a much shakier proposition. It seems to me that we do need to be culturally relevant; we’re not doing the Gospel any favors by intimating that only geeks and losers believe. Yeah, there’s a balance to be struck, but this song takes me way out past the edge of where I’m comfortable balancing.

Third thought: If it’s really OK to be uncool, why are the words and music written in a style that is attempting to be contemporary? Why not write it as a Gregorian chant or as Uzbekistani folk music or as hideous 70’s disco? Apparently it’s OK to be uncool unless you’re a CCM musician. Then you’ve gotta try to be, but the odds are you’ll fail miserably.

I can’t deny that the basic message of the song (“God loves me just as I am”) is true; it’s really the insipidity that kills me. Let me share, in closing, a song that does a far better job at eloquently sharing the wonder of God’s love for us. Brother Scott, you might take a lesson or two from Andrew Peterson.

What’s that on the ground?
It’s what’s left of my heart
Somebody named Jesus
Broke it to pieces
And planted the shards

And they’re coming up green
They’re coming in bloom
I can hardly believe
This is all coming true

Just as I am and just as I was
Just as I will be He loves me, He does
He showed me the day that He shed His own blood
He loves me, oh, He loves me, He does

All of my life I’ve held on to this fear
Its thistles and vines
Ensnare and entwine
What flowers appeared

It’s the fear that I’ll fall
One too many times
It’s the fear that His love
Is no better than mine

It’s time now to harvest
What little that grew
This man they call Jesus
Who planted the seeds
Has come for the fruit

And the best that I’ve got
Isn’t nearly enough
He’s glad for the crop
But it’s me that He loves

Just as I am and just as I was
Just as I will be He loves me, He does
The same as the day that He shed His own blood
He loves me, oh, He loves me, He does

(Just As I Am - Andrew Peterson)