This Sunday, our church membership class will be the first to be introduced to a “Covenant of Commitment” between themselves and the church. We’ve rather rapidly experienced the spiritual and practical benefits of making our membership class more rigorous, theologically deeper, and required for the joining the church. Prior to that, we saw everything from people joining and dropping out in a matter of months to non-Christians joining (Why this phenomenon, you may ask? Since our church community was so welcoming, they said, they could overlook the Jesus-Son-of-God thing).

It’s our hope that this covenant will not only clarify and confirm the investment we expect from people joining the church, but also make it clear what should be expected from the church receiving committed people to its community. I think this is important because mainline churches often seem to operate under the assumption that, apart from grave heresy, they can do as they please so long as there is reasonable unity with the elders and staff. However, a church that covenants with its members binds itself in a sacred contract to uphold its end of the promises. Should that church fail to live up to those promises, members have indisputable grounds for calling the leadership of the church to account.

To be honest, I’ll be excited when the first person does. It will likely be a healthy learning experience for this congregation in renaissance.

Thoughts on the covenant below? It’s not a document that’s written in stone, so feel free to make suggestions.

I, _________________________________________ as a follower of Jesus Christ, covenant with Second Presbyterian Church, my God, and myself to:

Walk with God daily in Bible study, prayer, and following Christ’s teachings in turning away from my sins and pursuing a holy life.

Invest myself in sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ with non-Christians.

Be involved in discipleship outside of Sunday worship because I recognize the need for accountability and community in my life.

Receive from those appointed over me accountability, counsel, and/or correction for my actions. Specifically, my actions that do not reflect how Jesus teaches me in the Bible.

Give generously the time, resources, and giftedness that God has blessed me with so that the Gospel is advanced and God is glorified.

Likewise, the leadership of Second Presbyterian Church covenants to:

Teach the Word of God to the best of our ability.

Consistently preach the Gospel in our words and actions and from the pulpit.

Offer the necessary programs and opportunities that will lead to your spiritual growth and maturity.

Provide care in sickness, counsel in crisis, and guidance in what it means to follow Jesus and His commandments.

Make programmatic, financial, staff, and leadership decisions with the advancement of the Gospel and the glory of God solely in mind.

In signing this, I affirm my membership vows and place myself in a covenant with my church to hold me accountable to those vows, even as I hold the church accountable for its vows, so that together we can be the body of Christ demonstrating the Gospel of Jesus Christ to our neighbor, city, and world.

So as a Christian music hater-turned-unabashed Christian music snob, I feel it’s only appropriate to finally release the names of the five best Christian music bands in the world. After all, when Saul became Paul, he had some pretty important things to say about Christianity. However, I’m going to do my best to be (sorta) impartial, avoiding giving you a list of my favorite bands for the sake of edifying your ears and minds.

These bands were selected for their theological depth, staying power, crossover (without selling out) appeal, and general musical brilliance—which means you won’t be seeing the likes of Toby Mac, Newsboys, or MercyMe within a mile of the top five. However, it does also preclude a lot of really good Christian bands for various reasons. Anberlin hits every category hands down—except theological depth. House of Heroes, Abandon, Deas Vail and the like are likely going to be huge—but they’ve only released one or two full-length albums. Mat Kearney’s early work was genius—until he decided to become the illegitimate child of Chris Martin and John Mayer. The Psalters changed my life—but almost no one has ever heard of them. This was a lot harder than I expected.

But I didn’t let nights of crying into my pillow about whether to include (SPOILER ALERT) Relient K stop me from completing the epic task I set out to do. And due to my importance as a Christian music critic, I predict after publishing this list, the record sales should increase for the following honored bands by .001 percent. Enjoy my analysis.

5. mewithoutYou

The best band you’ve probably never heard of. I would compare them musically to a more manic Modest Mouse, and with a raw and honest theological input from Sufism, Judaism, Islam, and Christianity that provides the counterbalance Modest Mouse’s grating nihilism. They get the highest marks for originality, crossover appeal, and brilliant lyrics—and if they could just come out with one more good album, you’ll see them jump down the list.

4. Relient K

I hesitated to bequeath a pop-punk group an honor such at this, but the Relient K is the king of pop-punk in the Christian world. And even if their music isn’t the most creative, they’ve consistently carved out numerous tracks over a decade with a good range of spiritual depth that preaches well to the less-theologically astute listeners. Got to give them credit for that.

3. Switchfoot

I’ve praised Switchfoot before (as well as criticized them), but I’ll praise them again: these guys rock. They’ve been around for nearly forever, constantly growing and maturing with every album. Every album puts out songs that are catchy and theologically reflective, not to mention a few nationwide chart-toppers here and there. You might not be a fan (and I am only on occasion), but it’s really hard not to like them and they are definitely worthy of the being a best band.

2. Sufjan Stevens

For an Episcopal-Presbyterian who isn’t afraid to quote Scripture in his lyrics, it’s surprising that Sufjan has far more secular than Christian fans. He’s that freakin’ good. You got to be when you have entire songs about the transfiguration or impending death of Jesus. Sufjan’s material runs the gamut from folksy minimalist to full orchestras, and it tends to show up in the most random of places (e.g. Little Miss Sunshine, Brooklyn Academy of Music). Sufjan is one of the better contemporary musician/composers of our time and certainly pulls of one of the best infusions of spirituality and music.

1. Thrice

I’m sorry, but this was really a no-brainer folks. This post-punk-now-art-rock band wears their faith on their tattooed sleeve (or at least their lead singer does), but in a way that attracts even some of the most skeptical people. Nor is their spirituality only wading knee-deep in theological waters. They go deep, constantly quoting C.S. Lewis and exploring less hip themes—like of the total depravity of man. The lead vocalist, Dustin Kensrue, has been studying Reformed theology for the last two years and it really shines through in their most recent album, even as it shows a pattern of continual theological evolution on the part of the band. Oh, and their music is just plain good, with each album venturing into new musical genres. They may a bit too hard from some tastes, but that shouldn’t stop you from listening to them. Their lyrics and passion are worth the occasional screaming you may not like, and they are one of THE reasons why the Devil doesn’t have all the good music.

And now comes all the agreeing and mostly disagreeing. Oh yeah. It’s on.