The 
26 September 2006
High Fidelity Part 2 of 3 part series
What distinguishes Christian music from most Top 40 songs isn't the sound, but the lyrics of faith. Some lyrics are deeply spiritual; others are merely spiritual cliches-a Mcfaith for a culture that likes its religion as fast and easy as its food. The music reflects evangelicals' emphasis on a personal relationship with Jesus, but it's largely a soft-sell gospel devoid of social justice themes.
And because musicians sing about faith, fans often revere them as spiritual icons. While veteran singers such as Michael W. Smith and Amy Grant easily articulate a faith, many young musicians are unwilling or unable. I'm a guitarist, not a theologian,
snapped one musician when he was asked to describe his faith.
Micheal W. Smith
Amy Grant
Another christian artist said that he's bothered by the superficial theology pervasive in the industry. Some musicians actually believe that they're called to play Christian pop music on the same level as the calling of a pastor-as though it's a ministry to the church,
. He attends a Reform church. You hear people say all the time that `God gave me this song'. That's preposterous. Because if God gave you this song, then your little pop song is on the same level as God-breathed scripture.
Researcher George Bama's studies seem to back evangelicals' impulse to reach youths through popular culture. In interviews with hundreds of Gen Xers in the early 1990s, Barna discovered that only half of them defined themselves as: "religious." Turned off by institutional religion, they've tuned into a pop culture in which movies and music are rife with eclectic spiritual images and themes, such as the pop singer Joan Osborne's transcendent pondering, "What if God were one of us?"
Joan Osbourne
Years ago one mother said she ordered her daughter not to listen to anything but Christian music after seeing the 11-year-old "obsess" over the Spice Girls, whose foul language and skimpy outfits seemed over the edge. If her daughter idolizes Christian music so be it, her mother said, because she's being influenced by positive role models.
The Spice Girls of long ago
The Christian music industry often measures its impact in terms of record sales or how much mainstream attention it garners. But a more interesting gauge might be found in autograph lines. At a local music store, dozens of girls easily rattled off endless trivia about such secular girl groups, even down to their lipstick shades, but few knew similar details about the well known Christian young women's group: Point of Grace. Yet most could recite the faith lyrics of many of their hits, which music industry advocates say indicates that Christian teens are more attached to the music than the musicians.
Point of Grace
The final installment of this 3 part series is coming soon!
Christian-Charles de Plicque
Angel House International Missions Ministries Association
September 2006
Article also available in French
www.deplicque.net
