Apparently some Christian bands don’t wish to be Christian any more. In a report about a band called "Mute Math," Christianity Today discusses those bands which have “built a bridge” to the world and have crossed over.
A perfect example is the lawsuit recently filed by the band Mute Math against its Christian label, Word, and the label's owner, Warner Brothers Records. Some Mute Math members were formerly in Earthsuit, an "unabashedly Christian act," according to Billboard. Mute Math has sold most of its albums in the Christian market and played Christian festivals. Band members maintain they are all Christians. Yet they say they expected Warner to release the album, not
Word.
So they sued, complaining that the Word release damaged their brand. Keyboardist and cofounder Paul Meany tells Billboard, "I had no desire to be the Christian version of a real band." Meany complains, "They [Word] were going to market it the exact way we didn't want."
So apparently it’s not cool enough to be a Christian rock band anymore. The scandal of the cross has become too much for some of those riding the wave of CCM.inc. This movement seems to have begun to make a stronger dichotomy between those who sincerely want to worship the Lord and those who would rather flirt with the world.
It's an established trend. Entertainment executive and author Mark Joseph says that the concept of Christian music is "in the middle of a quiet collapse" as a younger generation realizes that to be taken seriously outside the Christian scene, a band must stay far, far away from that scene. This conceptual collapse is breeding not only confusion, but also litigation.
Of course, there is also another movement within CCM to sincere worship. Even the Newsboys have been changing their tune a bit. No one denies that contemporary Praise and Worship has made a huge presence, some of it bringing bubble gum pop tunes with its theologically starving lyrics. However, it has also brought the likes of Stuart Townend and Sovereign Grace. The later seems to be gaining strength and as the posers cross over their bridges could we be seeing a positive trend to sincerely Biblical and God honoring worship within the CCM ranks?
3 comments:
"When all is said and done, as the book of Revelation says, all that's left is "Holy, holy, holy." Rock and roll will not be there."
Interesting quote from the Newsboys.
"In the end, I believe it's going to take musicians who are really walking close with the Lord, in fellowship with their church, in fellowship with other believers, walking in the light, so that we can see mighty things happen. Right now we just have a whole bunch of people that are just trying to be hip and relevant."
This weeks edition of They Said It. The quotes just keep on coming.
I knew there was a reason I liked that album.
"Furler: Walking with other men. I'm accountable to many of them. In the last couple of years, I've learned what all of that means, and it has really changed my life. When I say that rock 'n' roll is boring, I really mean that it's boring compared to that. We're not producing people that are worth following. The only way you can become someone worth following is if you're following someone worth following. My job now as a man is not make rock 'n' roll or to put out records; I don't care if I never put out another record. My job now is to have twelve men that I'm encouraging, lifting up, and helping any way I can. I'm one of those twelve. I want leaders and senior pastors around America to know that what's what the newsboys are here for. I want to build the church. I'm down for the eternal, and the eternal is Jesus building his church in this generation."
Post a Comment