[soc.religion.christian] Christian contemporary music

lu@druhi.att.com (david lu) (11/10/89)

I'm intrigued by the discussion on the net about Christian Contemporary
artists.  I became interested in CCM when I was a freshman in high school
(2nd Chapter of Acts' Easter Song was the start) and still find myself
sitting around the tape player at Christian bookstores listening to demo
tapes.  Though I've never been much of an Amy Grant fan (not that I don't
like her music, I just never got around to geting any of her records), I
do have some thoughts on the situation with Christian artists.  Since I'm
not much of an Amy Grant listener, I don't have much to say about her, but
I might use her in comparison with another group.

I tend to break up Christian contemporary artists (CCA's) into different 
categories when it comes to their ministry.  My first category includes
artists and groups who do not outwardly profess to be Christians or claim
that their music is for the Lord, but have songs that tend to have
Christian conotations and themes.  Artists include the group early Kansas 
(check out the album Vinyl Confessions), The Alarm, early U2, etc...  Some 
of the members of these bands do profess to be Christians and some of the
lyrics have Christian themes.  I have to admire many of these musicians 
since they are trying to infiltrate a secular recording studio with music
that could get listeners to think about God.  However, I won't grant them
too many accolades since much of the music does not directly speak of their
belief and it is up to the listener to find the meaning.  A good book to 
read about a secular band that had to deal with Christianity is called
_Seeds_Of_Change_.  It is about Kerry Livegreen (sp?) and the group Kansas.

Category II:  Artists who profess to be Christian, sing of their belief,
and are still in the secular studios.  There aren't many of them and the
only one that comes to mind is Stryper.  Since I'm not into heavy metal,
I again have not heard much of their music, but from my metal friends, I
believe that they are adamant about bringing the Word to the secular music
industry.  Talk about being sheep among wolves!  They are Christians and
don't try to cover it up on stage or in the studio.  I've got to give high
marks to a group that throws out Bibles out to kids at concerts and tries 
to witness to groups such as Motley Crew or Judas Priest.

An aside:  Though I am not a metaler, nor really get into hard rock, I do
believe that there is value in using the style to spread the Word.  It is
just another medium and does speak to a group of people.  Though I can't
always understand what is being sung, there is power in music for the 
Lord.  I've heard accounts of hundreds of kids committing their lives to
the Lord after concerts with said type of music.  Maybe this defense is
not needed, but I thought I'd throw it in anyway.  Sorry if you think I 
just wasted bandwidth.

Category III: Artists who profess to be Christian, sing of their belief,
are on Christian recording labels, and live out what they preach.  I'll 
include artists like Keith Green, Resurrection Band, 2nd Chapter of Acts,
Petra (I'm not familiar with anything after Volz left), Undercover, etc...
These are the artists (in my opinion) that have music that has a clear 
message and the artists themselves do as they preach.  When I go to a
CCM concert, I hope to be ministered to, listen to some good music, and
hear the artist speak to the audience about salvation and the Christian
walk.  I saw Keith Green in concert and he would always speak to the 
audience about how critical a relationship with Jesus was, not just let
them figure it out from his music.  The concerts I saw with Petra and
2nd Chapter of Acts were similar.  I tend to see concerts as an opportunity
to bring non-Christian friends to a non-threatening place where they can 
hear the good news.  When an artist doesn't have an altar call or doesn't
take time out to share God's Word from the heart, I get disappointed.

Of this group, I believe that Rez. Band is really on top of things.  Again,
I don't get into their style of music, but I did have the opportunity to
visit Cornerstone ministries (their "headquarters").  This place was where
the rubber hit the road.  It is located in inner-city Chicago and let me
tell you, it is not the most pleasant, nor safe part of any town.  Yet,
they have converted an old hotel into a place where they are able to feed
over 900 meals a day to whoever shows up at their doorstep.  There are 
places for the homeless to stay and they go out in the winter to bring in
those who couldn't find a better place to sleep than a gutter.  On top
of that, it is the musicians themselves that you find living and working
in the kitchen.  From what I could see, these folks really practice what
they preach.

Category IV: Artists who profess to be Christians, are on Christian recording
labels, but have ministries that I'm not too sure about.  The artist that
immediately comes to mind is Michael W. Smith (my applogies to those who
disagree).  When I was in college, I had the opportunity to see him in
concert.  I was really disappointed.  For starters, I paid $22 for a ticket
compared to the free (w/ love offerings) 2nd Chapter and Keith Green
concerts.  I know that isn't something to really get upset over, but I
thought the price was a bit high.  Anyway, the sound system had some dis-
tortion that made the lyrics difficult to understand.  Compound that with
lots of teenagers who were screaming in the aisles and I got a concert that
did not minister to me through the music very well.  Now, maybe others
(excluding those who already knew the lyrics to the songs) did understand
the lyrics and heard the Word (as I aluded to earlier, some people can
understand heavy metal), but there was no open opportunity to accept
Christ.  Not even counselors after the concert.  In terms of spoken message,
he did not do anything substantial (said a short prayer that sounded
rehersed).  The local Christian radio station concurred by giving the musical
talent a 10, while giving the spritual content a 2.

I'm sorry if I seem hard on Mr. Smith (he's my only concrete example; maybe
his concerts have changed in format), but I do get a bit unsettled when I 
see Amy Grant on the Tonight Show, talking about everything but spiritual 
things, while members of the Rez. Band are living and working in rundown 
neighborhoods.

These are just my opinions and I appologize if I have offended you.  I hope
I haven't sounded too judgemental and I welcome your opposing/supporting
views.

-David Lu
lu@druhi.att.com		att!druhi!lu

Psalms 33:1-3

cw1u+@andrew.cmu.edu (Chi-Tai (Frank) Wu) (11/14/89)

Dave Lu wrote:
>I'm sorry if I seem hard on Mr. Smith (he's my only concrete example; maybe
>his concerts have changed in format), but I do get a bit unsettled when I 
>see Amy Grant on the Tonight Show, talking about everything but spiritual 
>things, while members of the Rez. Band are living and working in rundown 
>neighborhoods.

	Did you guys see Dodger pitcher Orel Hershiser (sp?) on the tonight
show?  He sang the "Doxology" on national T.V.  I heard this from a
friend of mine who has time to watch television.  He said that after
last year's World Series, Orel was invited to give an interview on the
tonight show.  During the show, Johnny Carson show a clip of the last
pitch Orel threw that won the series, and Carson noticed that while Orel
was preparing for the pitch, he muttered something.  Carson then asked
Orel, "what did you mutter?"  Orel replied, "I was singing the
Doxology."  Carson, I supposed, never heard of the Doxology so he asked
Orel to sing it for the audience.  So Orel sang:

			Praise God from whom all blessings flow
			Praise Him all creatures here below
			Praise Him above ye heavenly hosts
			Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost

	And then there was silence.  No one in the audience even clapped.  I
guess everyone was either surprised or touched by Orel's sincerety and
convictions.  As for my friend, he was glad to see a witness for Christ.

						fa lan ke

P.S. C'mon Amy and Michael, do not conform to the standards of this world.  
       But be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind and music.*

	*my distortion of the Scripture?

rex@nbc1.UUCP (Rex Espiritu) (11/17/89)

In article <Nov.13.11.56.50.1989.4998@athos.rutgers.edu> cw1u+@andrew.cmu.edu (Chi-Tai (Frank) Wu) writes:
...
>P.S. C'mon Amy and Michael, do not conform to the standards of this world.  
>       But be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind and music.*
								Romans 12:2

As fellow Christians, might I suggest we keep these artists in our prayers...?
As humans, we probably don't know exactly how God may be using them as vessels
for Christ.  We can only hope and pray that they are striving in their walk,
just as you and I are, to be obedient to and to follow Christ and to keep a
balance in their Christian piety, study, and action.  These may not be in
perfect balance in other people's eyes and ears but I'm not sure anyone's
(save Jesus) is -- Hence the grace and mercy of our Lord.  And thank God for
that!
-- 
M. Rex Espiritu, Jr.                   National Broadcasting Company, Inc.
rex@nbc1.ge.com                        30 Rockefeller Plaza, Room 1615W
{uunet!crdgw1,ge-dab,philabs}!nbc1!rex New York, NY  10112  (212) 664-5390
``Where there is no vision, the people shall perish.'' --Is