Contemporary Christian Music

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A refreshing perspective from a Christian musician that gets it!

Of the many Christian artists in the world, there are some that actually understand their calling:

By the 2005 release of his third CD “White Flag,” based on his study and teaching of the Beatitudes, Shaun was questioning what his calling really was. He knew he was made for more than just entertaining audiences, and he was getting uneasy about his family’s comfortable lifestyle.

And because of that conviction, he does not charge admission for any of his performances (unlike some who charge up to $30 for a show). Recently he posted an article on his blog about a survey conducted among college chaplains that points out what we’ve been saying all along–that much of what is called “Christian” music these days is nothing more than sugar-coated pop-tunes filled with “Jesus is my boyfriend” platitudes [all emphases mine].

According to some college chaplains at this conference I’m at this week, long term exposure to Christian music may have unsavory side-effects.

They feel like they’re fighting bad theology and unbiblical perceptions created by the music business. Their students grew up listening to K-LOVE in the minivan on the way to school with mom. They grew up in “event-driven” churches singing songs from “stars” who also came to town to play concerts.

Did the industry change the church/students or did the church/students change the industry? Either way, these guys don’t think all change has been good.

Worship songs, these chaplains say, might be too important to college students. Singers are marketed (and sometimes, apparently, behaving like) nothing but saved rock stars. And don’t even get these chaplains started on lyrics!

These guys also say college students think involvement in a “worship gathering” is optional too – students can text or talk or sing or pray…whatever they want…like a concert. “This is what happens when communion with God becomes commercial,” one said.

“Why would I bring an artist to my campus for chapel and further propagate Christian celebrity and worship as concert?” another asked.

These guys are suspicious, at best, of the Christian music business and its artists. They say we don’t think enough about what we write and sing and how it will affect people exposed to it for years and years.

Couldn’t have said it better myself.

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Quotes (843)

I blush today to think about the religious fodder that is now being handed out to children. There was a day when they sat around as the fire crackled in the hearth and listened to a serious but kindly old grandfather read Pilgrim’s Progress, and the young Canadian and the young American grew up knowing all about Mr. Facing-Both-Ways and all the rest of that gang. And now we read cheap junk that ought to be shoveled out and gotten rid of.

I have an old Methodist hymnal that rolled off the press 111 years ago and I found forty-nine hymns on the attributes of God in it. I have heard it said that we shouldn’t sing hymns with so much theology because people’s minds are different now. We think differently now. Did you know that those Methodist hymns were sung mostly by uneducated people? They were farmers and sheep herders and cattle ranchers, coal miners and blacksmiths, carpenters and cotton pickers—plain people all over this continent. They sang those songs. There are over 1,100 hymns in that hymnbook of mine and there isn’t a cheap one in the whole bunch.

Our fathers sang “O God, Our Help in Ages Past,” and we sing junk.

AW Tozer
1897-1963

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David Crowder’s crowded theology.

The latest pockmark to appear on the already scarred face of CCM comes from one of evangelicalism’s favorite “worship leaders,” David Crowder of the David Crowder Band.

Crowder, who is the

author of the contemplative-promoting book, Praise Habit (referring to the habits worn by Catholic nuns),

also participated in a contemplative/emergent conference with the likes of

Leonard Sweet, Chuck Fromm (founder of the event and of Worship Leader magazine), emerging leader Sally Morgenthaler, Brennan Manning proponent Michael W. Smith . . . contemplative/emerging Marva Dawn, Alpha Course leader and contemplative proponent Todd Hunter, and others.

(See more about this from the source Lighthouse Trails.)

But Crowder’s lack of discernment doesn’t end here. He recently granted an interview to the Roman Catholic “movement” known as Life Teen (whose promo video was previously featured on DefCon here) in which they state on their website:

Because of our deep Eucharistic devotion, Life Teen has developed a spirituality that is

  • 100% Catholic
  • Obedient to the Magisterium
  • Centered on the Eucharist
  • Scriptural
  • Liturgical
  • Catechetical
  • Sacramental
  • Focused on social justice

And:

On December 9, 2007, [at] the Feast of St. Juan Diego, we consecrated the Life Teen movement to the Blessed Virgin Mary and will renew our consecration annually by prayerfully participating in the St. Louis Marie de Montfort Total Consecration. [Emphasis theirs]

And:

Our entire ministry is dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary so that we may be led to the feet of her son with the obedience she exemplified.

If you’re wondering why Crowder (or any evangelical for that matter) would grant an interview with the idolatrous Romanists whose teachings and beliefs are antithetical to biblical Christianity, wonder no more. Crowder–whose music may very well be in your car stereo or on your teenager’s ipod right now–concedes in this interview a rather interesting source of influence in the “formation of [his] faith.”

Here’s the question from the interviewer Matt Smith:

You are not Catholic, but on your Illuminate album, you sing a prayer of St. Francis of Assisi. What’s your connection?

Here’s the evangelical “worship leader’s” answer:

Much of the Catholic traditions and writings have been influential in my formation of faith and to be quite contradictory of what was stated earlier, I’ve found much inspiration there. St. Francis is a figure I’m equally attracted to and repelled by. I long for his powers of disassociation from the trappings of “stuff.” I’m beset with consumption and materialism, and he is a compelling symbol of contentment. His contentment and way of suffering terrify me.

You can read the whole interview here.

Let this be a warning fellow pilgrims, not all that glitters is gold, and not everything labeled “Christian,” that’s sold in “Christian” bookstores, and that’s played on “Christian” pop-music stations is what it’s purported to be.

Be cautious that you are not influenced by those who’ve been influenced by Rome. Be careful little eyes what you see; be careful little ears what you hear; and always be sure to choose your entertainment wisely.