The recent 2026 Super Bowl LX halftime show featuring Bad Bunny (Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio) sparked conversation and dialogue across the nation. Some viewers enjoyed and appreciated the music, while others felt uneasy about the explicit lyrics, sexually suggestive dance movements, and sexual themes presented on a platform traditionally watched by families. Many viewers did not understand the lyrics or their messages because the songs were performed in Spanish.
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While this article is not meant as a criticism to artists, listeners or producers, the recent halftime show does provide opportunity to discuss discipleship and the development of young minds and hearts.
Changing
American families are living, working and raising children and grandchildren in a culture in which sexually explicit song lyrics and provocative entertainment imagery are becoming normalized. What once existed primarily in adult venues can now stream into homes, cars, computers and smartphones without parental supervision or knowledge.
For Christian families, the question is not simply whether one performance crossed a line.
The deeper question is this: How do we as parents, grandparents, pastors, teachers, ministers and churches shepherd tender young hearts in a culture where explicit content has become commonplace? Even if children and youth aren’t seeking sexually explicit material, it often finds them through their media devices.
Music — a universal language that influences young minds
Music tells stories. It touches hearts. It makes people think and learn. Music celebrates certain values and normalizes certain behaviors. Repeated exposure to music and lyrics influences vulnerable young minds, imaginations and expectations about life, dating, love, marriage, parenting, commitment and faith.
God’s Word tells us, “Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it” (Prov. 4:23).
According to Common Sense Media, American teens spend an average of more than seven hours per day consuming entertainment media.
1. Content analyses of popular music have found high percentages of sexual references in chart-topping songs.
2. The American Psychological Association has reported that repeated exposure to sexualized media content can influence adolescents’ attitudes toward relationships and sexual behavior.
3. As Christians, we understand what shapes us repeatedly, forms us quietly.
The 2026 Super Bowl LX halftime show reached an estimated 128.2 to 135 million viewers, making it one of the most-watched halftime shows ever.
4. The next day, the singer’s music streams jumped about 175%, reaching nearly 100 million on one day alone. Spotify, Amazon Music and Apple Music data reported similar dramatic increases. According to AP News, “The Puerto Rican superstar went on to dominate the Apple Music Daily Top 100 Global chart, landing 23 songs in the Top 100.”
5. The result was repeated exposure and further normalization of sexually explicit lyrics for young minds.
We all live in this culture. None of us is immune from media. Cultural cycles are not new, but digital saturation is. The issue is not one performer or one event. The issue is formation through repeated exposure and normalization.
What are we shaping in the hearts and minds of the next generation?
What voices are we allowing to disciple them daily?
What can the Church do to help guard hearts in the digital age?
Churches cannot control what the culture produces. But churches can teach and prepare believers to think wisely about the media they choose to consume. Churches can teach their children, youth and young adults how to live within a rapidly changing, sexually explicit world of media.
Here are some practical suggestions:
The lesson of discernment: Churches must teach discernment rather than mere avoidance of questionable media. Simply telling teens, “Don’t listen to that,” rarely produces lasting conviction or results. We can help our young people learn to ask better questions: “What message is this song promoting?” “What view of relationships does it celebrate?” “Does it honor the dignity of the human body as God’s creation?” “What message does it teach about committed, loving marriage relationships?” Church leaders can help young believers analyze the world’s media content by teaching strong biblical principles that grow spiritual maturity.
Safe spaces for honest conversation: Most young people are exposed to mainstream music and media. It has become part of daily life. They are listening in massive numbers to the songs, understanding the lyrics and being exposed daily to messages that are in direct contradiction to the gospel. Of course, explicit music has existed for decades. But the scale, speed and algorithmic delivery are new.
If church becomes the one place where these topics are never discussed, the young will learn their pseudo-values from unbiblical sources. Youth leaders and parents can create safe spaces where young people can ask honest questions and receive answers grounded in God’s Word spoken by spiritually mature Christians. They can model calm, respectful dialogue about media influence, sexuality and identity in Christ. Listening often opens doors for meaningful life, love and faith guidance.
Theology of the body: Churches must continue teaching a clear theology of the body — a constant topic used by the media. In a culture that often reduces the body to pleasure or performance, regardless of consequences, Scripture presents the body as sacred. The body is created by God, redeemed by Christ and indwelt by the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 6:19–20). Sexuality in marriage is not shameful. It is designed by God and has an important purpose.
When churches teach young people God’s design for the body through Scripture with clarity, they come to understand that in a loving and committed marriage, sex is to be treasured. Too many times, however, popular song lyrics portray sex as an uncommitted and unloving act, and the body as something to be used, abused and discarded.
Alternatives to secular media: Churches can offer their young people alternatives to the secular world’s explicit media on a smaller scale. Leaders can encourage quality Christian music, worship gatherings that engage young people creatively and resources that help parents cultivate healthy media habits. When churches celebrate artistic excellence rooted in biblical truth, families are strengthened rather than simply warned about dangerous secular media.
Equip parents and grandparents with practical tools: Churches can sponsor media-awareness workshops and seminars for parents and grandparents. Many adults today feel overwhelmed and technologically outpaced. Providing practical instruction on streaming controls, lyric translation tools and accountability software can empower Christian families.
The church’s responsibilities are not about condemning one artist or reacting in fear to cultural changes. Every generation has wrestled with music and media that challenged its values. Nor is this about isolating our children from the world. None of us is untouched by its influence.
The deeper issue is discipleship.
If we do not intentionally shape the hearts and minds of the next generation with biblical truth and good values, something else will. Our goal is not outrage, but formation — not anger, but faithful shepherding.
When churches commit to teaching media discernment, modeling holiness with grace and love and strengthening families in truth, prayer and God’s Word, they do more than critique a single discouraging cultural moment. They prepare our younger generations to stand firm in strong faith long after the music fades.
Five questions Christian families can ask about media
- What does this celebrate? Does it honor commitment, dignity and self-control? Or does it glorify selfishness and exploitation?
- What view of relationships does it promote and glorify? Are people treated as image-bearers of God who are made in His image or are they shown as objects?
- How does this shape my thinking and influence my mind and heart? Does it cultivate gratitude and respect, or comparison and craving?
- Would I consume this with Christ visibly present beside me? Why or why not?
- Does this draw my heart and mind toward God or dull spiritual sensitivity?
EDITOR’S NOTE — Denise George is author of the new devotional book (published in partnership with TAB Media Group), “Preparing Our Hearts for Easter: Daily Devotions for Individual, Family, and Group Study.” Available on Amazon.
