Certainly, this writer never knew John Lennon personally, although I would have loved to have met him. Still, I do not believe that Lennon's remark was a dart thrown at my Lord and Savior but instead an observation of a culture of young people who followed the Beatles more than Jesus. If anything, Lennon's comment was a subtle indictment of popular culture in 1966, where pop stars -- especially the Beatles -- were elevated to a deity-like status above our Holy, Triune God. The thing is, if Lennon was alive today, he would likely recognize that the 2009 version of popular culture's worship of man over God would make that of 1966 look like Sunday School in comparison, i.e. when a mortal man like Barack Obama is referred to as messiah, savior, and The One. And while Lennon's insightful "Jesus" comment sparked a firestorm in the U.S. in 1966, the exultation of Obama to deity-like status in 2009 is considered acceptable. My, how things have changed in 43 years...

I am an evangelical singer, songwriter, and recording artist. The music I make is about my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. I am not bigger than Jesus. Without Him, I am a dead man walking. I am a sinner who is not fit to be a wad of chewing gum stuck to the bottom of Christ's sandal -- but for His grace and mercy extended to me I am saved through His sacrifice on the cross at Calvary and His resurrection three days later.

I do not worship John Lennon, the Beatles, Barack Obama, or any other human. But certainly, I love the music of the Beatles; as they are my favorite music group. It is the inspiration of the Beatles that made me want to be a musician.

While I don't own the new Beatles Rock Band gaming system, I have watched many trailers from the game on YouTube. For some reason, I find it hard to watch and remain dry-eyed, and I can't claim to know precisely why. The Beatles were a secular band for sure, but God has used their music and personalities to prod me along and inspire me. God is all-powerful and in control, and He can use any entity to appeal to His children -- even secular entities. I can claim to be teary-eyed right now as I type the words to this installment of Jim's View, and I don't know why I'm so affected. Here I am writing about the most popular music group in history -- a group that encouraged drug use and an "anything goes" lifestyle -- a group that steered the very course of popular culture toward the negative, and yet I feel the direct leading of the Holy Spirit to compose this piece as I am doing.

God gave me a musical template with the Beatles, but certainly not a lyrical map. As examples, I invite you to listen to three of my songs: We Are The Church, God Is Love, and Pray Hard from my Agapé CD. I will provide mini music players at the end of this article. Please think about what you hear musically and more importantly what you hear lyrically.

Some have roundly criticized me for sounding like the Beatles. Still, I don't set out to do it intentionally, as I believe it is how God encourages me to sound. Of course, those who criticize don't like the music of the Beatles and would rather have me sound like whatever artist is their personal favorite. There are others who say "gosh Jim, I don't think your sound resembles the Beatles at all."

I don't know if John Lennon and George Harrison came to Christ in the waning moments of their lives. I have read the Lennon did accept Jesus in the 1970's but then turned his back on the faith. As for Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr, there is still today! Please pray that Paul and Ringo will come to the cross.

Here are the aforementioned song players. I hope you enjoy:

• We Are The Church 
• God Is Love 
• Pray Hard