By: Keith Miller

12 Feb. 2003 Categorizing Christian Rock: Five philosophies used by Christian musicians

The Evangel Society garnered a great deal of attention with this article on the ideas contained on Project 86's album Truthless Heroes. Many of the responses we received showed a misunderstanding of the central claim of our article: that Project 86 is not making Christian music and, therefore, should not be carried on Christian radio stations. Several readers thought that we were presumptuously judging that Andrew Schwab and the rest of the band were not Christians. Others claimed that our standard required all Christian music to include explicitly Christian lyrics like "Jesus Loves Me." Neither of these views accurately reflects my position, leading me to articulate a more comprehensive philosophy of music.

In this article I delineate five ways in which Christians have chosen to utilize their musical gifts. After differentiating between these methods, and offering an example of each, I think it should become clear which of these types should be played on Christian radio stations. It is important to note that these distinctions are not genre-based, but rather content-based and therefore any particular artist may be active within several categories.

Worship Music
"God of Wonders" - Third Day, Offerings: A Worship Album

Music of this type carries explicit Christian doctrine framed in a devotional manner. It is meant to be performed in an interactive manner, drawing the listener into participation in the passionate worship of God. The common failings of these songs include redundant simplicity and theological immaturity, but the best of this genre can truly help people worship their Creator. Third Day and Caedmon's Call are my favorite artists who primarily use this approach.

Exhortational Music
"Shine" - Newsboys, Going Public

This category includes the majority of Christian rock artists from the seventies to the present. Ever since Larry Norman paraphrased Martin Luther and asked, "Why Should the Devil Have All the Good Music?" Christian rock has combined entertaining music with meaningful lyrics. To illustrate the motivations of these artists, let us take a quick tour through the history of the genre. In the late seventies, Keith Green and Barry McGuire were two leading Christian rockers. Both had careers in the general audience music market, and McGuire had a number one hit, but after finding Christ both felt that they needed to be explicitly Christian in their musical efforts. Barry McGuire wrote and performed a children's musical called Bullfrogs and Butterflies and sung about how they had "both been born again." Keith Green's songs reveled in the love Jesus had for him and also challenged Christians to make No Compromise, the title of his second album. In the eighties, Steve Taylor irreverently challenged the "Christianese" spoken in the Church and satirically called for Christians to serve God sincerely. The nineties found dc Talk, the Newsboys, and Audio Adrenaline challenging each Christian youth to be a "Jesus Freak" who lets his light "Shine" on the way to the "Big House" in heaven. These songs were produced so that teenagers in the Church would have music in the style of their day with lyrics consistent with their beliefs. Today, Skillet's song "Alien Youth" can serve as an anthem to remind young Christians that they need to be "taking over the world."

"Roaring Lambs" Music
"Kiss Me" - Sixpence None the Richer, Sixpence None the Richer

Many Christian artists have chafed at the box into which the Christian music industry forces them. The aforementioned Steve Taylor, after sickening of the limited scope of late-eighties Christian music, formed Chagall Guevara with four other Christians and signed with the secular label MCA. Despite putting out one of the best albums of all time, the band never managed to break through. Taylor wrote an allegory about this experience in the song "Sock Heaven" on the album Squint:

Pick any market
Pick a straitjacket
If you can't act it
Misfit, you don't belong here

Lord, where do we go?

One pile waits with their god in a box
The other pile nervously mocks heaven
Misfits lost in the dryer, take heart
Maybe there's a place up in sock heaven

Taylor compares Christian and secular music to two piles of socks, each with their own closed-mindedness. The one side constrains musicians to be simplistically and stereotypically Christian in content, while the other writes off any artist that dares to mention Christ. These "straightjackets" make it difficult for Christians to exercise artistic honesty.

One of Steve Taylor's influences, Bob Briner, wrote a book about the dilemma presented by the exclusion of Christians from the culture. In Roaring Lambs Briner called on Christian artists to enter the mainstream and stop living in their comfortable subculture. It was with this motive in mind that Taylor founded a record label, Squint Entertainment, and proceeded to sign several gifted bands and help them enter the mainstream. Sixpence None the Richer found the greatest level of success with their self-titled album featuring "Kiss Me" and "There She Goes." Both of these songs were merely love songs that had broad popular appeal, but Sixpence still used them as a vehicle to have a powerful impact on the culture. The epitome of the Roaring Lambs ethic occurred when Sixpence performed "Kiss Me" on Late Night with David Letterman. After hearing the song Letterman brought lead singer Leigh Nash up to the stage with him and asked her about the origin of the band's name. As Nash explained that it came from the following C. S. Lewis illustration of a father and his son:

When we talk of a man doing anything for God or giving anything to God, I will tell you what it is really like. It is like a small child going to his father and saying, "Daddy, give me sixpence to buy you a birthday present." Of course, the father does, and he is pleased with the child's present. It is all very nice and proper, but only an idiot would think that the father is sixpence to the good on the transaction. (C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity)

Nash relayed this story and then concluded with this interpretation: "C. S. Lewis was comparing that to his belief that God gave him and us the gifts that we possess to serve him. We should do it humbly, with humble hearts, realizing how we got the gifts in the first place." Letterman was dumbfounded. "That's beautiful," he replied, "It makes perfect sense. If we could just keep that little sliver of enlightenment with us, things would be so much better." It is these moments of truth within the general culture that truly answer Christ's mandate for Christians to be salt and light.

Positive Music
"Hanging By a Moment" - Lifehouse, No Name Face

Other "Christian" artists, given similar opportunities to share the gospel, have dropped the ball. Lifehouse, which burst onto the music scene in 2001, came together as a group while leading worship for a youth group in southern California. Despite the personal faith of frontman Jason Wade and bassist Sergio Andrade, Wade insists "My music is spiritually based, but we don't want to be labeled as a 'Christian band.'" This combined with his unwillingness to interpret his songs, but rather leave them to subjective interpretations, constitutes a missed opportunity. Nevertheless, bands such as Lifehouse, U2, and P.O.D. all are positive influences on the culture through the somewhat veiled Christian messages their songs contain.

Negative Music
"Hollow Again" - Project 86, Truthless Heroes

Andrew Schwab, when asked about the dark tone of Project 86's new effort, responded "We do not want to be a "positive" band." While not questioning the faith of the members of the band, it is impossible to include them in any of the above categories. The criticisms of modern culture contained in Truthless Heroes may identify some of the right targets, but the solution offered never refers to Christ. In fact, beyond the fact that they have been on a supposed Christian label, Tooth and Nail, played Christian festivals, and received airplay on Christian radio stations, there is no reason to consider the content of the album Christian.

There is a need for Christian radio to be discerning. I believe that only the first two types of music, Worship and Exhortational, should always be included on Christian radio stations. "Roaring Lambs" and Positive music could also be included under certain conditions, such as DJ interpretations, but I see no place for Negative music on Christian radio..