Posted on 12/07/2004 12:06:09 PM PST by LouAvul
The growing clout of America's 100-million evangelical Christians is being heard loud and clear. Just turn on your radio, and you'll notice that a seismic shift in American culture is taking place.
Before, you could tune into different stations, which offered different music and different messages.
But now, as Correspondent Bob Simon reports on 60 Minutes Wednesday, Dec. 8, at 8 p.m. ET/PT,, evangelical Christian music is flowing into mainstream media -- and changing it. In fact, Christian entertainment now brings in $4 billion a year.
Rappers and rockers are making hits and making money while spreading the gospel to national audiences. Christian groups can be heard on secular radio and seen on "The Tonight Show." Earlier this year, the group Third Day even played at the Republican National Convention.
"The fact that there are Christian themes now emerging in rock and that Christians are in rock is just representative of a spiritual desire or a spiritual hunger in our culture," says Cameron Strang, publisher of Relevant Magazine, a religious publication.
(Excerpt) Read more at cbsnews.com ...
>>I was asked to give an example of watered down and I gave one of a song IMO was watered down.<<
How exactly is it watered down? I'm serious here. I just don't see it.
D minor is a depressing key, but I don't know if it is evil or dark...
I think Eb is rebellious. Don't believe me? Ask any guitar player. 8^>
That is so, like, you know...watered down. No mention of revelation 17 or ANY of the epistles. ;-)
That clarifies it for me too. Thanks.
Some people need to understand that a kid today saying "God rocks," in todays vernacular, means what my generation meant when we said, "God is Awesome!"
I'm certainly not going to judge the dialect of those who refuse to speak 16th century english.
"All things to all men" certainly tends to prevent you from "apearing" uncool. Maybe Paul had something there...
So what you are saying is that it really DOES have an evil jungle beat?
I'm sure they'll be along shortly. ; )
Agreed. Conservative Christians are about the most rebellious people around, specifically because we don't tow the PC/Liberal party line.
One Sunday morning a friend of mine got up, dressed in her too tight dress and had a little too much makeup on and went to church. She went to a church where the folks there welcomed her with "You are a sinner and need Jesus" and she was shunned like the plague. See, my friend was an alcoholic. Inside she was longing for something but didn't know what it was. She thought that she would give religion a try.
Well needless to say she figured out really fast that she wasn't like those folks and that religion wasn't what she was looking ofr. My friend fell deeper and deeper and began doing crack and ended up on heroin.
One night she was desperate for money for her next fix and she decided to sell her body. She went to the corner store here near my house to find a john. She began talking to a young man there. He was in his late 20's. He was a rough looking guy. She said that he looked like he was a user and that is why she approached him. He looked like her. The young man told her that he would pay her her price. She got into his car and they drove to a local seedy motel. When they got into the room she began to take her clothes off. He asked her to stop. He told her that he was not going to have sex with her and she became angry because she thought that he wasn't going to keep his end of the deal.
He told her that he was still going to pay her but for the money she was going to have to listen to him tell her a few things. He began to witness to her about his own life and his addiction to crystal meth in his teens. He told her his story then told her about Jesus. She listened only because he was paying her to, or so she thought.
When he was through talking he asked her if he could pray with her. She told him that it was his dime but do it quickly. He did and he paid her and he left her there in that room never touching her.
She took his money and went to the dealer and bought her drugs. She got her fix and she said it was the worst she had ever had. She could not get high enough that night.
The next day she woke up and she said that all she could think about was that young man and his story. She also knew that she had reached the end. She laid on the floor of the dealer's house and said, "Jesus, if you are real and you can clean up that boy and get him off crystal meth please help me". She said that she immediately felt something inside her. She wandered back home and cleaned herself up and went to bed for 2 days. She said that the rest she got that day was almost cleansing. She went on to find a bible group and is now in church and serves as the Treasurer of her congregation. She has her own business and is engaged to be married.
Moral? This man looked like her, identified with her, showed her love and compassion and never condemned her. He spoke her language. He was a bit creative. He didn't shun the opportunity just because it didn't conform to the traditional way of evangelizing. He gave her the message but left the rest to the Holy Spirit.
If the message of salvation is not delivered with the love of Christ the heart of the deliverer it will not be accepted. I have been to a couple of Christian rock/contemporary music concerts where the performers wept openly before God in worship. Where they ministered to the crowd with the love of Jesus in their hearts. I have been to many churches where the preacher basically insulted everyone in the congregation by telling them how horrible they were. Which do you feel got more people's attention and led them to Christ?
Do NOT EVER miss an opportunity to be creative simply because it doesn't conform to traditional ministering and NEVER try to minister to someone with the love of Christ dwelling within you. You will do more harm than good. Most important of all, never assume that it is YOUR place to save someone and never assume that because someone else is doing it differently that it don't work.
I have already answered this, but will do so again. In the song I posted, it is difficult to tell if he is singing about Christ or his girlfriend. That is why I consider it watered down.
Another poster posted "Jesus Freak" by the same band and I agreed that that song was not watered down. Jesus Freak is the type of lyric I would like to see crossover. I object to veiled lyrics in order to get secular airplay.
And for the LAST TIME, I am not opposed to CCM, I listen to it a lot, as well as secular rock.
Sorry, posted to previous post before I read this post. I'm just really getting tired of defending myself when I am by far more on your side than Zachariah11's.
Heh, heh. Been there myself. I know the feeling.
And thanks.
Well, that was possibly the most powerful, riveting post I've ever read here, or anywhere. I'm actually speechless.
I play in a praise band every Saturday night. We’ve been together for a year now and I’ve only missed three services. I play a Fender American Custom Telecaster through various pedals. I have an overdriven sound and a clean sound. At times I have to fill in for various musicians so some times I play my Fender bass and sometimes I play my Taylor 810. I have the same Korg Triton at home that we use in our band so I’m able to program at home and take it to church as needed.. That said, I was glad when they said unto me, “Come, let us create a new praise band”
Our praise band practices start off with prayer and ends with prayer. Our praise band meets 15 minutes before the service to have prayer. We pray for the concerns of the praise band members as well as concerns of people from our church. We always pray that our work will be to glorify God and not ourselves.
I also write music for children’s musicals. I’ve have songs published by Brentwood-Benson, Lillenas, and Integrity. Steven Taylor has arranged some of my compositions. My neighbor writes the words and I compose the music. If you’re interested, my neighbor needs to have my music before he can write the words. We work on assignments from the producer where are asked to write songs that fit a particular segment of the musical. Sometimes our music doesn’t even mention Christ but supports the dialogue. Other times our music just plain ole’ describes the plan of salvation. We write for the age group of from 1st grade to 6th grade. We don’t compose little kiddy songs. We write music that kids enjoy singing. We used Steven Curtis Chapman’s song “Dive” in one of our musicals and the kids loved singing it. Our goal is to make singing fun while delivering the Gospel to children.
Here’s an observation I’ve made.
If you can’t draw the line in the sand about a matter then the matter is moot and not worth discussion.
Which came first, the chicken or the egg? I say God created a hen and a rooster and they had an egg. There are people that will debate me on that issue, but I don’t care. The matter is moot. There are some things we’ll never know in this life and that doesn’t bother me one bit. When we get to heaven I’m sure we will forgot everything we thought we ever knew anyway.
I play in a tee shirt and blue jeans on Saturday night. Before the service I go out into the audience and welcome people I don’t know and introduce myself. I wear clean tee shirts myself but I’m not above welcoming someone in a dirty tee shirt.
What is the definition of dressed up for a service. Is there a certain price level one needs to meet before they are considered dressed up. How much money should you spend on your clothing to be considered dressed up. I’ve got a $40 silk tee shirt. Is that enough money to spend? It’s a moot discussion. IT DOESN’T MATTER.
I think some of the nay sayers on this thread may be Church of Christ folk who will never be pleased with any kind of instrumentation in the worship service
Handle’s Messiah was considered blaspheme when it was first introduced. Now it’s a Christmas standard.
What works is right. God is God and I fear him.
I say this with kindness and love: What about our Commission?
HE did call us his friends, and brothers and sisters.
Ya nailed it. Let 'em go somewhere where they hide behind their hymnals and have a formula. They must get to the buffet by 12:10 after all.
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