Michael Jackson died Thursday and although I can't explain it and I never would have expected it, I feel sad. I've had a long history with Mr. Jackson.
I became a Christian about the same time he rose to megastar status with the "Thriller" album. In the years that followed Michael personified the 'enemy' for me because as a youth pastor I was trying to keep young people from being 'secularized' by pop music and MTV. I remember when the controversy broke about the alleged child molestation case, my take on it was, "Are you surprised? He's been molesting the minds of our children for years!" Looking back on it now I probably made much more of a fuss than I should have. I still believe music with a fallen world view can be very unhealthy for us spiritually, but I'm not nearly as uptight about it as I once was.
For all the fuss, I must admit Mr. Jackson was an incredible talent. The artistic side of me yearns to see the church be as creative with our message as he was with his craft.
Then there's the humanitarian side of Jackson's career that provokes me to do more to make a difference. From "We Are the World" to "Man In The Mirror," Michael confronted things that those of us in America's pulpits often ignore.
I realize that Michael Jackson was a very controversial figure. So a post like this will probably be met with controversy. There will always be those who demonize him, as I did for years. Who knows if he was guilty of the things he was accused? God does.
According to reports, Jackson was a Jehovah's Witness early in his career. (One more bizarre aspect of the man's story.) I know the Jehovah's Witness organization is way off-base Biblically, but I raise the point to say that Michael obviously had a spiritual hunger. I can only hope that someone was able to get to him through all the paparazzi and personal entourage and share the truth of the gospel with him. I hope the king of pop somehow met the King of Kings. It would be fun to moonwalk with him on the streets of gold one day.
