Contemporary Christian music hot this summer (on MainStream Radio)

Stars & Stripes (Pacific Edition) ^ | 17 Aug 03 | Brian Bowers

[xzins]

By Brian Bowers, Stars and Stripes
Pacific edition, Sunday, August 17, 2003

MercyMe’s “I Can Only Imagine” has been all over mainstream radio. Superchic(k) provided more music for “Legally Blonde 2.” And Stacie Orrico is a staple on MTV’s “Total Request Live.”

Contemporary Christian music is very popular this summer — but you wouldn’t know it from the news media. Journalists generally aren’t interested in topics involving religion unless there’s a whiff of scandal. Perhaps that’s why a reader asked how to find out what’s topping the genre’s charts.

I can fill part of that vacuum by adding a list of best-sellers to the bottom of this column from now on. Fans will have to turn to the Web to fill in the rest.

The best source is Billboard magazine, but you normally can’t get to its listings on the Internet unless you are a subscriber. If you’re really into it, go to www.billboard.com and sign up.

R&R magazine keeps track of radio airplay. Its Christian listings are at: www.rronline.com/Formats/christ_home.htm.

If you are simply interested in news and trends, check out the site for CCM magazine at www.ccmmagazine.com or the Musicforce page at the site for Christian Book Distributors at www.christianbook.com.

 

Disc tip

“Testify to Love: The Very Best of Avalon,” Avalon. This adult-contemporary group has made a lot of fans happy by putting all of its best music on one CD. With its 12 hits spread among six albums, listeners had to take the good with a lot of so-so. Now, they can focus on the best — with only a little so-so mixed in. “In Not Of,” “Adonai,” “Testify To Love” and the other hits are still catchy and uplifting but the three new songs seem relatively routine. The best is “New Day,” which contains the harmonies and sunny lyrics that make Avalon popular but doesn’t soar to the level of past hits.

 

On the charts

Top contemporary Christian albums as reported by SoundScan, according to The Associated Press.

1. “Almost There,” MercyMe.
2. “Worship Together: I Could Sing of Your Love Forever,” Various Artists.
3. “Stacie Orrico,” Stacie Orrico.
4. “Spoken For,” MercyMe.
5. “WOW Worship (Yellow),” Various Artists.
6. “Unclassified,” Robert Randolph & the Family Band.
7. “The Beautiful Letdown,” Switchfoot.
8. “Offerings II: All I Have to Give,” Third Day.
9. “Rise and Shine,” Randy Travis.
10. “Adoration: The Worship Album,” Newsboys.

[xzins]

As a retired Army Chaplain I found this a very interesting main article in the Stars & Stripes newspaper, the paper read by most of our soldiers. (Including those in Iraq & Afghanistan.)

Like the author says, you wouldn't hear about this in the major media.

"I can only imagine" is an awe-inspiring, soul-touching song FOR ANYONE. I recommend it.

[xzins]

Ping. Some don't like contemporary Christian music. I do. What's fascinating about this article is its appearance as a main article on Stars and Stripes website and hard-copy papers.

Those risking their lives in Iraq and Afghan are getting good directions from their secular, soldier-oriented newspaper.

PRAY FOR OUR TROOPS!

[Cvengr]

They might also seek to play some older country-western songs from the 30s through the 60s. A good number of insightful lyrics in those melodies by numerous performers.

[zarf]

I don't mind the music...it's just that most of the CC "artists" would sell their souls to the devil if they could break big on the secular charts.

For many CC "artists" "The Word" is a convenient way to make a buck while they're trying to make it big.

[xzins]

But for those who truly sing for the Lord, what a blessing they'll be for our troops.

Or, as Paul says about those who preach the gospel for selfish reasons: "in any case, the gospel is preached."

[RaceBannon]

Casualness in the Way
We Sing

by Robert Regal

http://www.middletownbiblechurch.org/lochurch/casualness.htm

Music, The Barometer of a Society
The church has swallowed the monstrous heresy that noise (music), size, bluster and activity, make a man dearer to God.
--A. W. Tozer
The article by Dr. Tassell and the above quote of Dr. Tozer should sound an alarm in the midst of the saints who have gone to sleep at the helm of the "Good Ship Grace," and have turned aside from "the faith once delivered to the saints." The Church, the "Body" and "Bride" of Christ, made up of local assemblies around the world has been impacted in our time by the "spirit of the world" (1 Corinthians 2:12). This is foreign to God's ideal which is delineated in the rest of the verse: "...but the Spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God."

Many of the saints of our time seem unable to discern "the Spirit of God" from "the spirit of the world." We are commanded not to love the world, nor be enamored by it, and never to be dominated by it. We are not to be "conformed to the world, but transformed by the renewing of the mind," for "...we have the mind of Christ" (Romans 12:2; 1 Corinthians 2:16).

Particular contemporary musical styles have become classic examples of the "spirit of the world" invading the church. Not only have they invaded the assemblies of believers world wide, but they dominate. Try to address it and the assembly splits. Leadership hesitates to address it for fear of creating unnecessary waves, and, "after all, we must get together in our day; we must unite on the main issues and not be overly concerned by doctrine." (I might add, we need to be sure that it is sound doctrine.) First, certain styles of the musical language are tolerated, this is soon followed by domination (down with the traditional, conservative, stylings) which, in turn, leads to compromise.

A consequence of this invasion affects the life style of the believer. Where you find an emphasis on much of contemporary stylings, you will notice a cloak of casualness that moves in among the saints. Thus the timely article of Dr. Tassell. If this situation is addressed the assembly cries out, "legalism!"

The style of music will not only affect the attitude of the saint in the area of clothes, grooming, and personal deportment, but in theology. It fosters a looseness in the spirit of worship, teaching, edification and fellowship. I have observed in many of the churches in which I have visited this "casualness," not only in attire, but in fellowship (conversation, noise), which becomes boisterous to the point that the pastor or man of music, or whoever is in charge, has great difficulty in beginning the service. What makes it worse is that the fellowship (conversation, noise), usually has nothing to do with the purpose of the church meeting together. What has created this mood and encouraged this pre-service situation?

One of the strengths of music and its varied styles are the moods and the emotions it generates. I am not saying that Pop, rock, in all its versions, Western, Country Western, Jazz, Folk, Stamp Baxter, New Age, Contemporary, and such like, are not part of the musical language, for they are an expression that comes out of our age and culture, which culture, in many areas, is caught up in insipid subjectivism and decadence. What I am saying is that these styles and idioms speak of the world and its culture good and bad and are thus disqualified to be the musical vehicle for the saints in worship, fellowship, evangelism, and the Christian life in general. The following are two quotes supporting this position:

The development of form in music itself is an attempt to reach completeness through an artistic media. Music having a definite secular symbolism is poor music for worship. Jazz, etc. is confusing. It is too much like everyday life to be ultimately satisfying. (Emphasis Mine)

--Dr. Bernstein, Professor of Music,
New York University




Art and music always reflect a particular view on life and the world. Deeply felt values are expressed through the way the theme and subject matter are handled. Thus, even junk and punk rock say something very definite, very deliberate. What rock is saying in today's culture disqualifies it as a vehicle for spiritual communication.

Reduced to its smallest component parts, music is amoral. There is nothing inherently wrong with 440 hz vibration or a dotted quarter note followed by an eighth note. The same could be said for a letter in the alphabet or a drop of paint or a particle of clay. But as soon as a human being combines any of these building blocks, the creative process has begun and the resulting creation always reflects a view of life.

For this reason, the Christian cannot sanitize rock. Even if we ignored the worldly associations of rock (and we cannot), its musical origins spring from a view of life altogether different from the Christian's. Because Christ must be the focal point of our music, the style must never overshadow Him or draw attention to itself. (Emphasis mine)

--Peck, "Rock, Making Musical Choices"



For too long the church has assumed and taken for granted its musical heritage which is rich in great hymn and gospel composition wedded to magnificent texts both in subjectivity and objectivity, that have passed testing through the channels of time and have emerged in our day arranged and rearranged, added to and extended, imbued with the touch of the art of great musical invention. Excellent music has been and is being written in our day, but one has to sift through and discern its textual and musical values and not be caught up in the argument for style. God gave us the substance of music, man gives us the style. There are 12 tones in our music scale. The arrangement of these tones in melody and harmony, the pulse of the meter that drives it and guides it, the text that gives the composition meaning, all fall into a style that must be thought about.

It should be remembered that two areas are involved in music ministry in and to the assembly, and for that manner, to each other and to ourselves. See Ephesians 5:19; Colossians 3:16 and Hebrews 13:15. Two languages are wedded together and both have a grammar, a syntax, and a rhetoric: Lyrics, or the word text, and composition, the music text. This then is the substance of musical expression, which expression becomes the barometer of a society. If this is true, and it is, then we could say without any provocation, that it is also a barometer of the church and its condition in society, and in its address to today's culture.

The Lord Jesus is a model for every believer. He was in the world but was not of the world: "I have given them thy word; and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world" (John 17:14). He was sent on a mission to the world, a world which hated Him, and He in turn has sent believers into the world, and in turn, the world will hate them; that is, if they are truly believers and love Him and desire to please Him as He pleased the Father, and realize that they also are on a mission to the world. See John 17:15-21.

The Lord Jesus, in verse 21, requested unity for the future believers (see also verse 11 and verse 22). These verses have been misused and abused by the promoters of the present ecumenical movement.

"Admittedly the divided church is in many ways a scandal. The cure, however, is not institutional union. Jesus was not praying for the unity of a single, worldwide, ecumenical church in which doctrinal heresy would be maintained along with orthodoxy. Instead, He was praying for the unity of love, a unity of obedience to God and His Word, and a united commitment to His will. There are great differences between uniformity, union, and unity." (Emphasis Mine)

The Bible Knowledge Commentary (NT), p. 333


All believers belong to the body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12:13), and the world should know of their spiritual unity by their life style. This life style, whether the church or the world, is expressed through the greatest medium of expression we know, musical expression, the heart of this discussion. Nowhere in the Word of God am I encouraged to adopt the musical language that expresses the world that hates God and the believer, for as Dr. Bernstein wrote...."music having a definite secular symbolism is poor music for worship...it is confusing. It is too much like everyday life to be ultimately satisfying."

"When you take great theology and wed it to grand musicology, it ascends before God in magnificent doxology."
Stephen Olford


--Robert Regal
From the book: With the Voice of Singing

[xzins]

Based on what you posted, you will really love "I Can Only Imagine."

It's amazingly uplifting.

[xzins]

Some of the music soothes the savage beast/breast (I can never remember how that goes???!!! :>)

[RaceBannon]

I think CCM is a spiritual Disease.

http://www.middletownbiblechurch.org/churchhi/church6.htm

CHAPTER 6
If You Cannot Beat Them, Join Them!
(Emperor Constantine)
During the first three centuries the devil attacked the Christian church. Stephen was the first victim (Acts 7:54-60). Later James was put to death (Acts 12:1-2). Saul of Tarsus led the attack against believers (Acts 8:1-3; 9:1-2).

At first the greatest persecutors of the church were unbelieving Jews (see 1 Thess. 2:14-16 and Romans 11:28). Later the Romans became the great persecutors. Paul and Peter were both put to death by the Roman Emperor Nero. As we study the early history of the church we learn that there were 10 different periods of persecution under 10 different Roman emperors:

The Ten Persecutions

Emperor
Date (A.D.)
Nero 54-68
Domitian 81-96
Trajan 98-117
Marcus Aurelius 161-180
Septimius Severus 193-211
Maximinus the Thracian 235-238
Decius Trajan 249-251
Valerian 253-260
Lucius Aurelian 270-275
Diocletian 284-305








What did these attacks and persecutions really do to the Church? Was the church destroyed? Were all true believers killed off? Did believers become an "endangered species"? Was the church fatally wounded and about to die?

Actually the very opposite happened. The more the church was persecuted and attacked, the more it grew and prospered. "The blood of the martyrs became the seed of the church." When Stephen died the church lost a great warrior, but his death led to the conversion of Saul of Tarsus, and Paul the great apostle accomplished what Stephen never would have been able to do. The martyrs died, but others were saved and took their place. Christianity not only spread but it thrived and prospered! The church of Jesus Christ could not be exterminated. It survived each and every persecution against it (compare Matthew 16:18–"and the gates of hell (hades) shall not prevail against it"). The Church could not be defeated. It came out of every persecution victorious and strong.

The devil knew that the Church was surviving and thriving. The Satan-inspired attacks against the Christian church were unsuccessful. Even men were beginning to realize this. In the year 311 A.D. Galerius (along with his co-emperors, Constantine and Licinius) signed the Edict of Toleration, a law which granted toleration to all religions including Christianity. Galerius was not a fan of the Christians, nor was he a friend. He was a foe of the Christians but he was smart enough to realize that the past persecutions under the Romans had not accomplished anything. The more the believers suffered the more they multiplied.

The devil still wanted to destroy the church, but persecution was not the way to do it. Instead he came up with a much better plan. Instead of attacking the church from the outside he would corrupt the church and destroy it FROM THE INSIDE. The devil’s new strategy was very simple: "IF YOU CAN’T BEAT THEM, JOIN THEM!" Don’t fight them, just shake hands with them and JOIN THEIR TEAM! Infiltrate their ranks! Let’s see how this strategy worked!

The Great Constantine
Constantine was born 272 A.D. He became a Roman Emperor. His life is worthy of careful study because the history of the world and the history of the Christian church were both greatly affected by this man.

Constantine was the first Roman emperor to call himself a Christian. Earlier in his life he had been a worshipper of pagan gods, especially the god of the sun (called Mithra or Apollo). What was it that caused an idolatrous sun-worshipper to later call himself a Christian?

This amazing event happened in the year 312 A.D. Constantine along with thousands of soldiers were preparing to fight against Maxentius, a man who wanted to be emperor instead of Constantine. The army of Maxentius was three times as large as Constantine’s army. On the day before this great battle took place we are told that Constantine made some kind of a prayer in which he asked for help and assistance in the coming battle. This would be one of the most important battles in all of history. If Maxentius had won this battle, the history of our world would have been quite different.

There is a famous legend or tradition which says that on the day before this great battle Constantine looked up into the heavens and saw a bright cross right above the sun. It was getting towards evening and the sun was beginning to set when he saw this amazing sign. The cross had these words connected to it:

"BY THIS (SIGN) CONQUER"
Whether Constantine really saw this heavenly sign is very doubtful. He must have seen something because he really seemed to think that the God of the Christians had given him a message just prior to this battle. Some believe that on the night before the battle he had an unusual dream in which he saw some of these things.

The next day the two armies met on the field of battle. It was a furious fight but finally the army of Maxentius was completely defeated. Maxentius tried to flee and escape for his life but he ended up being drowned in the Tiber River. After this victory Constantine was convinced that he had been helped by the God of the Christians. From this point on he honored the Christian faith and did what he could to help and protect and promote the Christians. He became the first "christian" emperor (but whether he ever became a true believer in Christ is another question).

The Edict of Milan
Constantine did not waste time in trying to help the Christian cause. In the year 313 A.D. Constantine (the emperor in the West) and Licinius (the emperor in the East) signed the EDICT OF MILAN. This important law made Christianity a legal and lawful religion. Christians were no longer outlaws! Christians were no longer enemies of the government! This law provided for full religious freedom for all Roman citizens. Every subject of the Roman empire was now free to choose whatever religion he preferred. He could choose to worship heathen gods or he could choose to worship the true and living God. This edict put a stop to the horrible persecutions against believers.

The Empire Becomes "Christianized"
Constantine brought about many changes in the empire. Here are some of the good changes which he made:

Crucifixion was abolished
Infanticide (the killing of unwanted infants) was abolished. Do we have anything like this in our society today?
The practice of slavery was discouraged and many slaves were set free.
The gladiatorial games were suppressed (although they were not yet completely eliminated).
Constantine tried to help the Christian church in many ways. He chose Christian men as his advisers. He provided many benefits for the clergy (those men who were leaders in the churches, usually called "bishops"). The clergy did not have to pay taxes and they did not have to serve in the military. They were paid good salaries. The life of a Pastor used to be a life of HARDSHIP (see what Paul said to Pastor Timothy in 2 Timothy 2:3) but Constantine was making it a life of luxury. It must have been a very popular thing to be a church leader (the applications must have come pouring in!). Do you think this is a healthy thing for the church? Does this system give the Church the kind of leaders it needs to have? Do you think many of these men would be tempted to serve the Lord or serve the church for the wrong reasons?

Constantine also contributed greatly to the building of great churches. Magnificent church buildings were erected in Jerusalem, Bethlehem, Constantinpole and other places. The churches got bigger and better, greater and grander. But does a great church building mean that the church is great? You may have seen some magnificent and impressive church buildings and cathedrals in some of the cities in our land, but what does God think about these churches and the people who attend them? Is God impressed by a giant building and beautiful architecture, or is He more concerned about the hearts of those people who attend these or any other buildings?

Constantine frequently used the word "Catholic" to describe the Church. The word CATHOLIC means UNIVERSAL. Constantine wanted all men everywhere to embrace the Christian faith and he wanted Christians to be united together. He thought that Christianity was the one thing that could unite his empire and make it great.

Today we are very familiar with the CATHOLIC CHURCH. It is interesting that many of the Catholic practices and customs and teachings had their beginning around the time of Constantine.

Sunday
It was Constantine who set aside the first day of the week, Sunday, as a sacred day of worship. He wanted to make this day a day of rest and worship.

He was the one who actually gave this day its name. When he made the first day of the week a holiday he called it "the venerable (sacred) day of the sun." In other words, he called it SUNDAY.

We have already mentioned that Constantine was once a "sun worshipper." Even after he claimed to be a Christian he still seemed to carry these "sun god" ideas with him. For example, on his coins one side had the letters of the name of Christ and of the other side was the figure of the Sun-god. Whether he still honored the sun-god or whether he just wanted to please those in his kingdom who worshipped the sun-god, we do not know. We do know that the first day of the week was named after the SUN! As true Christians we should remember that it is really SONDAY–the day in which we honor the Son of God. It is the LORD’S DAY!

The 7th Day Adventists and some other groups who do not worship on Sunday tell us that Constantine was the one who gave us SUNDAY. They believe that SUNDAY WORSHIP started with Constantine. This is not true. Constantine was the one who officially made this day a sacred day of worship, but true believers had been worshiping God on Sunday long before the time. of Constantine.

Constantine also made history by moving the capital of the empire from Rome to a new location. The new location was Byzantium which was located on the Bosporus (where the Black Sea and the Mediterranean Sea are connected). This key city actually divides the East from the West and divides Europe from Asia. He named his city NEW ROME and later it came to be called Constantinople (named after the emperor himself). Constantine in many ways tried to make NEW ROME a Christian city. He built a great church there. No gladiatorial shows were allowed, etc.

Constantine's Baptism
Was Constantine a real Christian? Many doubt that he was. One reason that his faith is suspect is that he was never baptized until his closing days. At the age of 65 when he finally sensed death approaching he was finally baptized. He died a few days later. He thought that by being baptized his sins would be forgiven. Did he have a correct understanding of baptism? What about you? Have you been baptized? What is holding you back?

Also there are many who think that Constantine enjoyed the pleasures of this world and he did not want to let them go until he knew his life was almost gone. Only then would he try to get right with God. Do people take this attitude today? "I’ll enjoy my life and live in sin but someday I’ll get saved. I’ll live it up now but someday I’ll get right with God." Many who plan to repent at 11:00 p.m. die at 10:30 p.m.

Constantine was baptized by a man named Eusebius. This man was a false teacher who believed many of the things that Jehovah’s Witnesses believe today. For example, this man believed that Christ was a CREATURE created by God. What do true Christians believe about Christ (see John 1:1-3)?

The Church Becomes Corrupted
There is a great danger whenever the church becomes POPULAR! In the days of Constantine it was no longer a shame to be a Christian, it was an honor. It was to your advantage to become a Christian. It was the fashionable thing to do. After all, everyone was doing it and the government put its blessing upon it. (Note: During the years that Jimmy Carter was President–1976 to 1980–it became very fashionable to say that you were BORN AGAIN. Many people started saying they were born again including many who did not even understand what the new birth really means).

What was the result? Since being a Christian was the popular thing to do, MANY DID IT! Thousands of heathen joined the church! Suddenly it seemed like the whole world was crowding into the church. Many of these people were Christians in name only. Can a person "name the name of Christ" but not really be a true Christian (see 2 Timothy 2:19)?

It has been said that in the year 324 twelve thousand men with women and children in proportion, were baptized in Rome, and that the emperor had promised to each convert a white garment and twenty pieces of gold. This report may be somewhat exaggerated, but this is the kind of thing that was happening. (Even today we have many churches who try to use gimmicks to get people saved: "If you come to Sunday School you will get a free ice cream cone and a stuffed animal" etc. This type of thing started way back in the days of Constantine!)

Thousands of unsaved pagans became baptized and started calling themselves "Christians." Did water baptism make them true Christians? The church gained in QUANTITY but it lost in QUALITY. There was a massive growth in numbers but no growth in purity. The church was becoming more and more worldly and corrupt. The host of hypocrites and pretenders that was entering the church was multiplying beyond control.

In earlier years the church stayed pure because it COST SOMETHING TO BE A CHRISTIAN. Often it meant suffering and persecution. Believers were not popular with the world. But in Constantine’s day it did not cost anything to be a Christian. It was to your advantage to do so! Today in our country it is somewhat easy to be a Christian. There is little persecution and little cost. Suppose the government suddenly made a law that every Christian would lose his head. Do you think you would soon find out who the true Christians really are?

As you can well imagine, many heathen customs and practices crept into the church. The pagan images and statues were still honored, only they were given "Christian" names such as Peter or Mary. Artemis (Diana) worship was changed to Mary worship. Also Isis, the Egyptian goddess was easily transformed into Mary. Worshippers of Isis called her "the Great Virgin" and "Mother of the God". Some surviving images of Isis holding the child Horus are in a pose very similar to that of some early Christian madonnas (showing the virgin Mary holding the infant Jesus). Heathen temples were consecrated and changed into churches. Heathen feasts were given Christian names. IT WAS JUST THE SAME OLD PAGANISM OR HEATHENISM UNDER A NEW NAME! The church had not conquered the world. THE WORLD HAD CONQUERED THE CHURCH!

The need for Separation
What important lesson have we learned from this chapter? Does it pay to compromise? Does it pay to join hands with the world? Did this help or harm the church? Can believers really be at peace with the devil and his system? Remember, Satan never compromises. He is out to attack and destroy the church in any way he can, EVEN BY JOINING IT!

Suppose you have a glass of pure milk and suppose you have a small cup filled with dirt. What happens if you mix the two? Will the milk make the dirt pure or will the dirt make the milk dirty? As soon as you mix the two you have corrupted and ruined the milk. The only way to have pure milk is to keep the two separate.

Suppose you are a clean believer (saved and justified and washed–1 Cor. 6:11) and you play dirty rock music. Will you make the rock music clean or will the music begin to corrupt you? The same is true for a dirty magazine. If you contact the magazine, will you make the magazine clean or will the magazine corrupt you? Separation is the only answer.

Can you think of ways in which the church and the world are joining together today? How is this corrupting and hurting tile church? What can be done about it? How is the church compromising with the world today? How do believers compromise with the world today? Do we follow heathen practices and customs and then call it by some nice name? Can I join up with the world and still be a winner with God? What do the following verses tell me about my relationship with the world: 1 John 2:15-17; James 4:4; Rom. 12:2. James 1:27

---

Back to LEARNING FROM CHURCH HISTORY
Back to SUNDAY SCHOOL MATERIALS & HELPFUL BIBLE STUDIES

[xzins]

I'm convinced that you'll like "I Can Only Imagine."

In any case, why the long posts with no commentary from you?

[rwfromkansas]

Soem CCM is bad. Not all of it.

Keep in mind I believe only the Psalms are acceptable in the public worship of God. But, CCM music is great for personal devotion.

Some of it is bad, but most of that is not CCM, but instead heavier Christian rock stuff.

[F-117A]

Bump!

[xzins]

I agree with your assessment. Some of it is questionable, and probably for the wrong reasons.

A lot of CCM is quite faithful and devotional.

[Theo]

Would you two stick to Hebrew, and maybe a bit of Greek? This Contemporary Christian English dishonors the Lord....

Okay, all kidding aside, while it's true that some contemporary music may be inappropriate for certain corporate times of "worship," there's no biblical support to disallow it sweepingly. Should cymbals be done away with? Should stringed instruments be done away with? Loud trumpets? The "devil's pipes" (what the pipe organ was called before it became "accepted" in the church)?

I do believe that "worship" is an engagement of a Christian's heart with the Lord, which begins with something meaningful, something consistent with sound doctrine. It's not the piano or the drums or the acapella or any sound. It's a heart thing.

That said, that "worship" may be accompanied by any sound that supports the meaning of whatever's being sung, and that encourages the "participants'" engagement with the Lord. If the congregation is primarily older people, it's not too loving, perhaps, to insist they "worship" to contemporary music.

Hm. I'll leave it at that. I am an organ/piano/keyboard player in my church's worship team, have been on a few worship albums, and love thinking of how I can better worship the Lord and encourage others to engage with the Lord as they resonate with meaningful, doctrinally-sound songs....

[P-Marlowe]

I think CCM is a spiritual Disease.

Here catch it!

BTW do you listen to any secular music at all?

[xzins]

If you've got a line on any decent musicians in rural S. Ohio, ping me some names on freepmail.

You are correct. The heart is the issue.

[Calvin Locke]

I came across some CCM a few weeks ago on shortwave, one of the WHRI frequencies, IIRC.

An hour on Saturdays around 1600 or 1700z.

[Russian Sage]

Contemporary Christian music hot this summer (on MainStream Radio)

Good. Maybe now I can go back to listening to Christian radio.

[Scothia]

There is no such thing as Christian music any more than there is such a thing as Christian drywall.

[rwfromkansas]

Well, God says in the OT to worship him in the ways that he has set forth, so we don't need something to be banned in order to not do it, just not something that can be supported with Scripture.

The early church was patterned after the synagogue, which sang Psalms only acapella. There are recorded instances of Paul and Jesus singing what is translated as a "hymn" in Scripture. Scholars agree that Paul's singing in jail and Jesus' and the disciples singing at the last supper were actually Psalms. To my knowledge, there is no examples of anything being sung by folks in the NT besides Psalms.

We are just looking at this differently. You say, "well, hymns aren't banned." I say, "the predominant Scriptural suppport seems to be for Psalms and we should worship God not according to the 'he didn't tell us we couldn't' attitude, but instead, the attitude that what Scripture supports clearly, we should try to do."

It is a radically different approach to worship than most are used to......heck, it is new to me.

God bless.