I grew up in a conservative Evangelical family where “Christian
rock” was not accessible to us. We
didn’t listen to “that type” of music. Over
the years, we chose to listen to a wider variety of music that began to include
CCM. A childhood friend introduced me to
Point of Grace and I kept songs such as, Keep
The Candle Burning and Circle Of
Friends on replay. For the next
decade or so, I was an ardent fan of all things CCM. A good Christian girl like me only listened
to so-called Christian music. The boy
bands left me feeling empty, but groups like Jars of Clay made me want to fall
in love with Jesus and write Him love songs.
I learned the lyrics and collected the paraphernalia. I’ve sobbed to Arise My Love on more than one occasion, even using it to arrange an
Easter youth drama. I’ve sung the CCM
solos in church, danced around my house to Newsboys and NewSong, created
heartfelt interpretive movements to Jaci Velasquez and exercised to Avalon.
Today I heard a classic favorite, Love Song For A Savior on my local Christian radio station. It took me back to the 14 year old girl who
petitioned to fast from her school lunch so she could spend that time praying
with a friend. Much of my spiritual
development as a teenager and young adult can be attributed to the ministry of
Steven Curtis Chapman, Point of Grace, Ginny Owens, Meredith Andrews, and many
others. My husband and I own almost
every WOW album and we excel at “Name
That Song.” I believe there is value in quality
music for believers.
I believe there is value in a radio station that plays music
about God and for His followers. In our
town, the Christian radio station has a prayer time on air, they host events to
honor pastors, they bring good concerts to our area, and they can encourage
thousands of people who are driving, working, or at home. Christian radio is important.
Christian radio is also not enough. My husband and I are so passionate about
worship that we’ve made it our life’s profession. It’s vital to us in corporate worship that we
are singing songs about God and songs straight from scripture. Sometimes those songs are first heard at
Passion Conferences or on the radio. Most
are not. We can’t trust “Contemporary
Christian Music” to give us “worship music”.
In recent years, too much of what we hear on the radio is inspirational. It encourages us to grasp onto a higher
being, but doesn’t really name who that is.
It encourages us that we have the power to overcome, but doesn’t tell us
from where that power comes. It talks to
hurting people and reminds us to smile, but doesn’t teach us to how to respond
when all our days are dark and we have to trust that God is in control
anyway. I’m not naming specific songs
because I do not know the heart of these artists. I don’t know their intentions and I won’t say
that any one person shouldn’t be on Christian radio or should change their
profession.
What I want us to see and to know is that listening to
Christian radio, shopping at Christian bookstores, attending Christian
concerts, reading Christian books, hanging with Christian friends, and
attending a local church DO NOT make you a Christian. The Christian life is more than inspiration,
it is sacrifice. It is more than a
feeling, it is faithfulness. It is more
than a peppy tune and a singable chorus, more than a drumbeat and a happy
ending. It is more His story than our
story, more His victorious ending than our happy day. It is His glory and we would do well to
worship Christ more for who He is, than what He does for us. Following Christ is life and truth and trust.
The Savior of humanity was born to a virgin and experienced
the struggles of man. Yet He lived
without sin. He died as an innocent
lamb, led silently to the slaughter for our iniquities. (Isaiah 53) He was forsaken by His Father for the
countless sins of the world and raised to life gloriously on the third day,
defeating the grave. He calls us to die
to self and follow Him. He commands us
to make disciples, even to the ends of the earth, until He returns.
If the music on our Christian radio stations and Christian radio
hosts only make us feel better about ourselves and what we are doing for God,
then they are all missing the point. If
the music on Christian radio doesn’t sound any different than the love ballads on
soft rock stations, it is not representing our Savior very well. If you want to hear a song about how strong
you are, I’m pretty sure any country station is your fix. Our music: whether CCM, on the radio, in
church, on an old cassette tape, or the latest on iTunes, should point us to
Jesus. If it doesn’t, we may as well
drive our cars in silence.
Copyright March 14, 2014 *thewifeoflee*
Copyright March 14, 2014 *thewifeoflee*
