Posted on 06/30/2004 3:27:30 AM PDT by RaceBannon
CCM MUSICIANS LOVE SECULAR ROCK
Updated June 30, 2004 (first published June 27, 2001) (David Cloud, Fundamental Baptist Information Service, P.O. Box 610368, Port Huron, MI 48061, 866-295-4143, fbns@wayoflife.org; for instructions about subscribing and unsubscribing or changing addresses, see the information paragraph at the end of the article) -
One of the problems with Contemporary Christian Music is its refusal to separate from the world. God's Word is very plain about this matter. "Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God" (James 4:4). Separation from the world is not an option; it is a solemn obligation. Most CCM musicians ignore this warning and remain intimately connected to the world by their love for ungodly secular music.
Some parents and church leaders are of the opinion that Christian rock is safe for kids because at least they are not listening to secular rock or rap or whatever. This argument makes no sense in light of the fact that most CCM musicians are themselves not separated from secular rock. Not only do most CCM musicians listen to secular rock, but they perform secular rock on their albums and in their concerts. Thus young people who are hooked into CCM remain associated with the secular music scene.
While some defenders of Contemporary Christian Music warn about the evil in secular rock, they turn right around and say that it is fine to listen to Christian rock. Steve Peters does this in his 1998 book Truth about Rock. This is a strange position because the Christian rock musicians themselves are certainly listening to every form of secular rock.
Consider some examples of this:
***Now if you are told otherwise, don't forget that you are being lied to.***
Not a very charitable statement.
Is it a lie to say that many emotions are not suitable to be offered up to God in worship?
Or that certain styles of music are linked by association with certain lifestyles or attitudes?
Or that CCM is overly looks-centered?
Or that God will not choose to use an unclean vessel?
Or that the money-driven dynamic is troubling (even to those in the industry)?
Are those lies my friend?
One of the dangers I see with today's Christian artists is the vast amount of temptation for them. There's just about every vice imaginable if you're a "famous" artist. You really have to have your head screwed on straight and your doctrine solid. Given that many of them are young, it isn't any wonder that many of them end up having spiritual problems (ie Amy Grant) which becomes evident on their covers and within their songs.
When I attended an Avalon concert I was VERY impress with their testimony and they made their priorities clear. They share the spotlight and kept their focus. They had a presentation for Christian missions and had "leaders" standing by if someone wanted to talk about our Lord Jesus afterwards. There was another famous artist there I wasn't quite so sure about.
***Those are some awfully insulting personal attacks on people from someone who is supposed to be more spiritual.***
Exactly! You got it.
The comments re Eric Liddle were a parody of how fundys deal with people who use their talents desiring to please God.
I have a friend, Nia (www.niaconcert.com ) who is a well know CCM singer in the UK. Our family has known her for ten years. She has stayed in our home many times. Her heart impresses me.
YET, your crew writes of CCM lock and stock and make blanket criticisms (hardly less charitable than the pasrody re Eric Liddle) that unfairly skewers her.
***Those are some awfully insulting personal attacks on people from someone who is supposed to be more spiritual.***
As Nathan said to David...
Thou art the man, RacBannon!
That was a major point of C.S. Lewis in Mere Christianity. He complained that all too often what is "Christian" -- be it art, craftsmanship, music, literature, etc.-- was mediocre. His challenge was that Christians should produce the cream of the crop in all these areas. Right now I listen almost exclusively to Contemporary Christian Music not only because the message is good, but the music is now superior to just about anything that is being produced by the secular labels.
Christians are slowly recapturing popular music. They are filling the airwaves not only with music about God, but also wholesome music about goodness and mercy and loving your neighbor and recognizing evil and sin.
Randy Travis is an excellent example. His songs run the range of songs that preach God to songs that give examples of Christian living and the effects of evil.
Groups like Third Day and Kutless and Switchfoot are not knock offs of secular rock groups, but they are on the cutting edge of the music industry and are leaders in the genre, not followers. Their music surpasses anything being produced by secular labels and indeed the secular labels are now seeking out groups like Switchfoot and Kutless because there is such a demand for good music.
Reminds me that it wouldn't hurt to re-read that this summer...
Seems to me the first stone was tossed by you against all these talented musicians who use their God given talents to the glory of God.
See post #183
Bingo.
In all fairness, it's possible that SOME Christians may have cause to stumble if they listen to Christian Rock, especially if they previously came out of a background of satanic rock--kind of analogous to an alcoholic drinking "NA" beer--some alcoholics can do it, some can't and get a craving for the "real thing."
But preaching that it's just bad in general is also analogous to the recovering alcoholic who runs around and insists EVERYBODY stop drinking because HE can't handle it.
You're still talking about the 80s CCM scene, right? I have no problem with this description of CCM back then...
But the past 15 years has really changed my opinion as I have seen the industry change....The fact that the message is getting lost is troubling.
Well, I think you and I can agree - at least in part - with your assessment. But the rule you established for the 80s I think still applies today, namely that CCM should be judged on a case-by-case basis. There *are* some excellent, Biblically-grounded artists to listen to, including those who play blues licks. And there are some who aren't. It's up to you and I to apply discernment and practice self-control in regards to CCM, and our emotions, in the same way we're called to do that over every other area of life.
The fact that the industry is now owned be secular concerns is troubling.
You fail to realize that before Word Records was gobbled up by corporate takeovers in the 90s, Word had already sold to ABC Records in 1974 - and Word was the distribution channel for most other Christian record labels for decades. I think only the Maranatha label was truly independent, as it behaved more like an artist-owned label. I could be wrong about Maranatha, though.
The other day I was listening to a CCM station. Except for the ads I would have had no idea I was listening to Christian music.
Christian radio stations (unless they're licensed as a listener-funded station, barring them from selling commercial spots) are dependent on revenues from advertising or revenues from half-hour blocks of time sold to radio ministries. Those rates are dictated by a station's Arbitron ratings, meaning dictated by how popular the station is, in any given hour, as expressed via the number of listeners tuned in.
If you heard ads, then you were listening to a station that lives or dies by how many listeners they can sell to a prospective advertiser (and whether the advertiser wants to be associated with that listener base). Conversely, a listener-funded station lives or dies by how many people will pay the station $25+ a month, rather than solicit an on-air advertiser, thus reimbursing the station directly for broadcasting the signal.
And thus, regardless of the format, the station's fiscal health and long-term viability is dependent on the sheer number of listeners it can attract. The only way around this formula is either for the station's programming to be deliberately short-term (for example, back in 2001 one of my local stations went to a "Radio Rudolph" all-Christmas format in December), or for the station's ownership to be willing to treat the station a charity, and willingly donate i.e. lose money to the venture on an ongoing basis.
Here's a fun experiment to try with your church - approach the pastor, deacons and elders, and ask them to purchase any local station and turn it into a radio ministry. Ask if they're willing to fund any fiscal losses via tithes and offerings taken from the offering plate, until the Arbitron ratings turn around. See what they say.
The only other way for a Christian station to be financially successful (read: higher ratings and higher ad- or donation-rates) while still overtly Christian (read: more overt content) is for the total number of active radio-listening Christians in their listening area to increase in number. Which means either the station needs to broaden it's appeal without compromising it's message (assuming there are more potentional listeners to attract) or the Church needs to preach the Gospel to the public, generating more converts and thus more potential listeners for the station to attract.
That's how it works. There ain't no other way.
Well said.
This is a problem for all in the ministry. If you are part of a successful ministry that is reaching the world with the Gospel, Satan will use every means possible to tear down that ministry. One method is to bring temptation into their lives. Another method is what is being used here, bringing self doubt into their lives and using other "Christians" to tear them down and make them think that they are sinning rather than reaching the world with the gospel.
Let us not forget that J.S. Bach was criticized for introducing deviant chord progressions into the liturgy. Many of our popular 19th century hymns would have been shocking to 16th century ears. Yet we still have people with 16th century ears railing against all innovations in music and claiming that certain "styles" of music are inherently evil.
Music is nothing more than organized noise. Psalm 150 calls upon us to "make a Joyful Noise." So it would appear that the only stylistic requirement of liturgical music is that it be noisy and promote "joy". Most Christian Rock 'n Roll meets both of those requirements.
***If you heard ads, then you were listening to a station that lives or dies by how many listeners they can sell to a prospective advertiser***
What I meant was, I could discern little or no Christian content in the selection of music I heard (other than vague moralising).
The ads however, with their Christian references (i.e. "we are a Christian tire store and have been in buisness for...") were what tipped me off to the fact that it must be a Christian station.
Maybe the weaker brother needs to grow up.
The Biblical standard is this: if my conscience is not offended by a behavior, provided it does not disregard the mandates of Scripture, than its okay for me to engage in such. IF I can get a quality cut of meat at a bargain price because it was sacrificed to idols, well, it's not like the idols are real anyway. However, if I know my friend and brother in Christ is offended by that prospect -- he might say, "by buying that meat, you're funding the evils of Aphrodite worship" -- then I should go to the meat market and buy the more expensive meat. He's not allowed to think I'm carnal because I eat meat sacrificed to idols, and I'm not allowed to regard the weaker brother with contempt. (That's the basic thrust of Romans 14.)
The same principle holds here: I enjoy Christian rock, particularly Caedmon's Call. For me, its causes me to meditate on the greatness of God. But to some, all they hear are those drums and guitars, and it reminds them of the excesses of secular rock music, and they therefore stumble. Okay, no problem. I don't force my music down their throat. I can sing hymns with a decent baritone. But they are forbidden to attribute carnality to me for listening to something with a back-beat.
Actually, I posted two even easier-to-read summaries of this thread before, here and here.
Hey, your bible is printed on the same kind of paper that is used for pornography. The leather binding is the same kind of leather that is used in S&M rituals.
Just because the style is the same doesn't mean the message is the same. A paperback Bible is indisguishable in visible style from a paperback porn novel. It is the message between the covers, not the medium itself that determines whether it is glorifying to God.
Now there a radio commercial that I want to hear. THAT would be hilarous.
The DJ's of one of the Christian radio networks here in Western NY would probably do that, too...
I'll verify that. No real research was done, other than Googling up some websites that said what he wanted to hear. It's the equivalent of gossip-mongering. There was no attempt to verify, only to impune them all, because somebody else said so. That's not good enough for me, and it shouldn't be for any dedicated Christian.
The fact that I know personally one of the artists, and what was written about him was manifestly and completely false, and provably so, should have caused him to question the accuracy of the rest of the info, but instead, even more unverified and negative slurs were posted, as though adding lies upon lies could make them true.
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