Dear Friends,

Milli Vinilli hit the charts sometime in the early 90's and was an instant success; winning a Grammy Award for best video of the year. Their star fell, however, when news broke that they had lip synched in their video, the music industry labeled them as frauds. Sales plummeted for Milli Vinilli and they were stripped of their Grammy. As far as I know, their careers ended with this first lip synch scandal. They may have fine voices, but whatever the reason, they chose not to use them and they paid a heavy price for their lack of authenticity.
I have noticed that other performers since the early 90's have been caught lip-synching live performances as well as music videos, but lip-synching is no longer considered scandalous. I do not know what internal controls the music industry uses address the reality of lip-synching, but I know there are many Milli Vinilli Christians who use "God talk" in their speech, but are essentially lip-synching their faith.
This type of transparency runs counter to the Gospel that calls us to live Christ-like lives. Unlike the God who creates with just a Word, we need hands and feet to create anything. We are creatures who must put "a little muscle behind our "God talk" in order to demonstrate an authentic faith. James never heard of lip-synching. It was not a part of his world. Nonetheless, he addresses the issue when he says, "Be doers of the Word and not hearers only."
Milli Vinilli Christians may not make the headlines of any media outlet, but their mute-scandals are far more profound because they quietly, but effectively erode the soul. When we are baptized, we become a part of a community that the rest of the world watches 24/7 - the amount of time it takes for one to live out one's faith. They watch in part because of the oddity of the claims we make. Any movement that makes the claims we make about sacrifice (greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends...) runs counter to the world's business as usual approach. We make such generous claims because of our belief in resurrection. The world watches to see if there is any substance to the claims we make, or if our faith is lip-synched. The irony of the 24/7 surveillance is that those who make no claims of generosity hunger for it at the same time seeking the depth generosity has to offer. There is much to be said about living with heart and soul and voice. There is also much on which to act.