The 
26 September 2006
High Fidelity Part 1
With Christian music now a growing force, religious rockers are behaving a lot like celebrities and their fans like starstruck groupies. This isn't sitting well with some Christians, who fear the Evangelical music industry has created golden calves out of its artists. Christian rockers may sing about God, they say, but who are fans really worshiping?
Some
of the harshest criticism comes from within the industry. In
these autograph lines, you're not going to see a lot of
ministry
, said Mark Stuart, lead singer of the Christian
rock band Audio Adrenaline. You're not going to see anyone
getting saved. You might pray, but generally it's just kids caught up
in this frenzy. It's like collecting Beanie Babies
.
Contemporary Christian music: (CCM), emerged in the late 1960s as a no-frills way to spread the gospel. At first, churches either scoffed or condemned the electric Jesus music. Today, it's the country's fastest-growing genre of music-a billion-dollar industry with its own record labels, fan clubs, awards shows, CD clubs, music videos, Internet chat rooms ("Amy Grant shops at Kroger Grocery Store!!!"), and celebrity magazines that showcase the comings and going of industry stars.
Many of those stars have become wealthy from their music; many more peddle trinkets and T-shirts at their concerts to stay afloat. Some lead lavish lives; others live well below their means and give thousands of dollars to help others.
At
the peak of his career, the late gospel recording artist Rich Mullins
left Nashville, the locus of the industry, and moved into a small
trailer on a Navajo reservation to live in solidarity with the poor. You've got people like Rich Mullins, who was sworn to
poverty
, said Eddie DGarmo, an executive with Forefront
(Christian) Records in Nashville. You've also got some people
who wear so much gold on their hands that it's hard to believe that
they can pick their knuckles off the floor
FRANK BREEDEN, PRESIDENT of the Gospel Music Association in Nashville, is unapologetic about the industry's commercialism. Christians are engaged in a culture war, he said, and to save America's youths from the "negative influence" of mainstream rock, they must battle back using the media that appeal to teens. Rather than selling out to culture, Breeden insists Christian music is refusing to surrender to secularism.
Indeed, Christian concerts often seem like wholesome versions of their mainstream counterparts. Body surfing and mosh pits are in, alcohol and profanity are out. At a Christian music festival that drew 12,000 teens to Willmar, Minnesota, in July, dress ranged from grunge to punk, complete with tattoos and navel rings. Some teens had Christian symbols such as crosses and fishes cut out of their hair, or wore T-shirts with a Generation X spin on crucifixion: "Body piercing saved my life."
It's
hard-core music for hard-core Christians,
said Jake Scheele,
15, of Minnesota, whose hair was painted in the colors of the rainbow. It makes it not so nerdy to be a Christian
.
At
one point, festival security used supersized spray guns to keep fans
from rushing a stage where the multi-platinum recording trio: "dc
Talk" was performing. Toby McKeehan, a singer in the group, said he
worries about being put on a pedestal by fans. We need to try
to let them know that we're just ordinary men and women trying to make
music that serves God
, he said.
Rev. Scotty Smith, pastor of Christ Community Church near Nashville, which draws many industry artists and executives, doesn't believe Christian music has done a good job of reflecting on what the cult of celebrity means.
Part of the problem, he said, is that the culture has replaced heroes with celebrities. In the past, heroes were usually people of great character, renowned thinkers, or, in the Christian tradition, martyrs.
There's a lot of naivete about the Christian music industry
being a devotional hothouse
, Smith said. Things are
always complicated when money is involved. Here we are singing about
God and all of a sudden you're seeing artists making six-figure
salaries.If we are being faithful, we will ask the hard questions. The question
is how do we maintain good heart and good art?
Christian-Charles
de Plicque
Angel House International Missions Ministries Association
Karleby Finland
September 2006
www.deplicque.net
