CCM in the United States of America An Exploration into the Contemporary Christian Music scene in the USA

Evan Roberts 273062 4/1/14 Songwriting MMus, Bath Spa

Evan Roberts – CCM in the United States of America

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Contents Abstract ............................................................................................................................................................................... 3

Methodology ....................................................................................................................................................................... 4

What is CCM music? ............................................................................................................................................................... 4

Definition – the lyrics are the only difference from secular music ................................................................................. 4

Issues in CCM .......................................................................................................................................................................... 5

Constant re-evaluation and periodic reformation .......................................................................................................... 5

Fragmented Church ............................................................................................................................................................ 5

The church is not centrally organised ............................................................................................................................. 5

Is rock pagan? ................................................................................................................................................................. 6

Money ................................................................................................................................................................................. 6

The origins of the CCM industry ..................................................................................................................................... 6

The co-existence of a Christ centred CCM with a market driven economy - secular labels purchase CCM labels ........ 7

Market size ...................................................................................................................................................................... 7

Compromise ...................................................................................................................................................................... 13

CCM compromising the message to extend the reach ................................................................................................. 13

CCM artists own up to compromise ............................................................................................................................. 15

Theology in CCM lyrics .................................................................................................................................................. 15

Christians apply discernment ........................................................................................................................................ 17

Gender .......................................................................................................................................................................... 18

Self-promotion - the conflict between getting the word out vs laying down self ........................................................ 18

2012-13 Billboard Christian findings ............................................................................................................................. 18

The place of worship and performance in CCM ............................................................................................................... 19

Is CCM bad art? ................................................................................................................................................................. 20

Cross Over ............................................................................................................................................................................. 22

Definition of cross-over music .......................................................................................................................................... 22

Church endorsement of cross-over music ........................................................................................................................ 22

Final Thoughts ....................................................................................................................................................................... 26

References ............................................................................................................................................................................ 27

Appendix 1: Listening to CCM survey responses .............................................................................................................. 33

Appendix 2: Artist Questionnaires .................................................................................................................................... 48

Greg Spears (CrossTie) .................................................................................................................................................. 48

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Rob Vischer ................................................................................................................................................................... 50

Dennis Jernigan ............................................................................................................................................................. 51

Andrew Greer ................................................................................................................................................................ 53

Tag Cloud ....................................................................................................................................................................... 54

Appendix 4 – Song themes, top 10 songs March 2013 – March 2014 ............................................................................. 59

Appendix 5 – Chart songwriters tally March 2013 – March 2014 .................................................................................... 60

Appendix 6 – Artists lyrics ................................................................................................................................................. 63

Switchfoot ..................................................................................................................................................................... 63

Jamie Grace ................................................................................................................................................................... 66

Matt Redman ................................................................................................................................................................ 70

P.O.D ............................................................................................................................................................................. 71

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Abstract The following work is an overview of the current Contemporary Christian Music (CCM) music scene in the USA. Using

several sources of data such as Billboard Christian charts, Neilsen economic data, artist interviews, and listener surveys

this essay attempts to identify contextualise some of the prevalent issues within the CCM industry in America. It is not

an attempt to be exhaustive but a panorama of general issues and health of the CCM industry. The issues and thoughts

extrapolated in this writing do not represent all the artists involved in CCM but attempts to provide a context from

which it functions. Please note that this essay is set within the discourses of Christian culture, music and Biblical

theology. The framework of this essay is best supported within this context given my topic itself is very muchm

contextualised. The use of the name of God and Christ are capitalized according to North Carolina state universities

chapter on capitalization which states: “the names of the one supreme God . . . as well as the names of other deities are

capitalized.", in addition to other universities grammar documents (CCC, n.d.; NCSU, n.d.; Richmond, n.d.).

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Methodology The methodology deployed in this study attempts to build upon current literature addressing the CCM field with a

combination of numerical survey data and semi-structured interviews. Combined with musicological and lyrical analysis

this range of methods allows me to establish tendencies and themes within this dynamic song culture.

I have relied of external bodies such as Nielsen for the data provided from within the previous two years, an aid to

contextualise and compare my findings.

The understanding of current literature can be used as a “central or even exclusive method of research” (Bell 1996, 67).

However, I looked to validate the scholarly sources with interviewee’s responses. Statistical data provided a backdrop

for questions about finance and the Christian artist. This qualitative data allows the author to look beyond the figures

and quantity of earnings to ask how it effects the artists and consumer purchasing trends (Rogers, 2010, p. 38). Gray

argues that quantative data is not enough to cover the complexity of humanity through empirical eyes (Gray, n.d.). This

was a rich well of qualitative and quantative data. The listener questionnaires were predominantly closed questions to

collect quantative data in order to understand the overarching trends affecting the industry of a whole, from a buyer’s

perspective. However, on more complex questions, comments were enabled to allow for depth and expression in order

to gauge whether there were any exceptions. For instance on the question of finance and the CCM artists, as many as

90% of consumer were happy for artists to live from a faith based employment of CCM songwriting. However,

respondent’s comments expressed the desire for artists to use their income wisely. This gauging of response can enable

a more comprehensive interpretation (Appendix 1: Listening to CCM survey responses).

The artist questionnaires were left open. By emailing the questionnaires the respondent could carry them out without

pressure added by the researcher’s facial expressions or reactions to artists answers. The recipients answers were

reduced to manual content analysis in order to seek trends in their response. Common trends were then grouped

together.

Analysis of the top 10 throughout March 2013 – March 2014 the period allowed the connection of the themes and

issues and show how these translate in the writing of the chart performers. This data provided useful to see which

concerns were really present in the current chart songs and which may have been redressed.

This economic data, chart analysis, artists questionnaires and consumer views information enabled an overview of the

prevailing issues and trends that concern the CCM industry.

What is CCM music? Definition – the lyrics are the only difference from secular music CCM is a abbreviation for the term "Contemporary Christian Music" (Ward, n.d.). CCM can appear a confusing label. It is not specific 'style' of music (Chapin and Chapin, n.d.; Gow, n.d.; Romanowski, 1992) It embraces all musical styles (Richard K. Miller & Associates., 2007). There is CCM rock, rap, reggae (Brandon, n.d.; Medearis, 1989; Ward, n.d.) CCM is better defined by looking at the lyrics of the songs (Brandon, n.d.; Chapin and Chapin, n.d.; Gow, n.d.; Romanowski, 1992). Romanowski states "It encompasses all the secular popular chart music" (Romanowski, 1992). Perhaps a case could be made to state that the character (and physical appearance) of the songwriter is secondary to cultural contribution of their music. However, musically speaking, CCM sounds the same as secular music with a spiritual message.

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“There is no such thing as gospel ‘music’—the lyrics are what make songs religious or secular”

(Millard, n.d., p. 198)

In its early years, CCM was constantly resisted due to what was believed to be a pagan origin (Barger, n.d.; Padgett, n.d.; Romanowski, 1992). However today "People in the gospel music industry at large, executives and artists alike, treated music as a neutral, universal language." (Romanowski, 1992). One band, Switchfoot, felt comfortable enough to explore the musical style of other religions worship (Houston, n.d.), most styles are embraced without concern. One exception discomfort still remains with heavy metal music (Moberg, 2012). The reasons for the similarity in genres within CCM and secular music are various. These are intertwined in the issues, which vary in degree from discomforts to real issues. Constantly shifting, these conversations try and answer the question: what is purpose of CCM music?

Issues in CCM Constant re-evaluation and periodic reformation Christianity is perhaps one of the main cultures where definition is constantly being discussed. In the essence of Christ's teachings is the finding of meaning in loving God, loving others (Luke 10:26-27) and investing correctly our talents (Matthew 25:14-30). Therefore Christian culture, as well as the changes in external culture, doesn't sit still very long and fidgets between what it is and how to react to the constantly evolving external developments. And sometimes if these changes haven't happened and the sacred has been gradually been yoking itself with the secular, a reformist appears on the scene. CCM artist, Steven Camp, was recently at the forefront of a call for CCM reformation (William, n.d.). He stated:

"When Martin Luther stood at Wittenberg's Door in the year 1517, he called for reformation from the

recalcitrant Roman Church. Now is our turn, almost five centuries later, to sound the alarm in our

generation." - (William, n.d.)

This 107 point work includes many of the issues that I will present here. Issues that still resound within the CCM industry and are unsettled and un-resolved. Issues that are decided in each congregation as the fragmented church is locally defining its stance. Issues of self-promotion and industry marketing. These and more issues that Camp has outlined for change.

Fragmented Church

The church is not centrally organised The church is not led a centrally led organisation and therefore there is no single unanimous stance regarding CCM. Much as it is divided over its interpretative definition of theological issues such as regarding the baptism of the ‘Holy Spirit’, types of baptism (by immersion (submergence) or aspersion (sprinkling) , and the issue of transubstantiation (whether Christ really meant that the bread and wine were his literal body or imagery of his sacrifice). The church is not one institution but a collection of pockets of faith groups with many differing views (Haught, n.d.). Ranging from greater

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fundamental differences, such as the infallibility of the word of God and lesser ones (transubstantiation), and nerves can be flared at either end of the spectrum. Some issues are current, such as the role of women in the congregation as leaders which has been aroused by the progress of feminism (MacArthur, n.d.; Miller, n.d.; Waltke, n.d.). Individual churches take their own stances on these issues as they do with music. Direct references to musical genres are not mentioned in the bible though it makes some references to instrumentation in the Old Testament. However, few churches use biblical instrumentation, which is primitive in form. There is no common accepted divinely inspired format in the bible, only occasional requests to "make a loud noise" (Psalms 150:1-6) and similar remarks on how to use the body in praise. Churches have been adapting themselves through the ages. Traditional churches today use organs, some expensively crafted into the building itself; modern churches use the rock band format. And it is this format that makes it "“indistinguishable — except for their lyrics “ (Chapin and Chapin, n.d.). Occasionally musical taste can mix with spiritual motivation as we each have our tastes and preferred musical golden-age (Audiobooks, n.d.). Church leadership speaker, John Maxwell, explains that the musical tastes are generational (Audiobooks, n.d.). Those who sung hymns and listened to classical music can find Christian rock music lacking in melody (Smietana, n.d.). And the difficulty in their case is to separate their musical emotion from spiritual interpretation. In my church the leaders had no connection with CCM artists. In America it would appear the connection between the church and the big artists is closer (Powell, 2002) and some critics are upset when leaders recommend the faithful to only listen to CCM music as it may be market influenced (Powell, 2002). Some believe this encourages a separatist market force.

Is rock pagan? Summer and Melody Chapin argue:

"How is it that music can affect me? The music itself, regardless of the words, affects your emotions.

Even if there are no words to a song or a tune, it affects you. Everybody knows this. Lullabies put

babies to sleep regardless of the words. National anthems can at times create feelings of pride or

move listeners to tears. Some of the most powerful music ever written — like Beethoven and

Wagner"- (Chapin and Chapin, n.d.)

This argument is based on the idea that music evokes changes in demeanour. Parents play music to their children to get them to sleep and we use upbeat music at parties to create an atmosphere. The other side to this argument, most strongly held by conservatives, is that several staple hymns, were of secular origin (Cottrill, n.d.; Lightwood, n.d.). Therefore, under this argument, they would have no place in worship circles. What song could we sing? Apostle Paul was known to quote secular writings. Intertextuality arises from a human nature to copy and produce art similar to the art assimilated. No Christian is born in a sacred bubble. Each Christian grows up with the secular mainstream music of their day. Christian artists are writing music similar to that which they assimilate.

Money

The origins of the CCM industry

"Baptizing rock music with Christian lyrics was a way of legitimizing the music for born-again hippies

and making it viable in the youth market" – Greg Scheer (Scheer, n.d.)

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The whole idea of monetising Christian music came in when "Jesus Music" needed to sustain the artists. The best solution appeared to be to forge a self-contained industry (Capitol Christian Music Group, n.d.; Romanowski, 1992). Much to the surprise of many naïve Christian artists (such as myself before this investigation), the CCM industry functions with remarkable similarity to the secular one and getting signed is a bit like putting your CV out for a normal job (ask.com, n.d.; eHow, n.d.; Piatt, n.d.; Trammel, n.d.), and functions under the same release pressures (Brandon, n.d.). Once companies are formed and jobs were created, they need to be sustained, hence the need for continued profitability (Powell, 2002).

"I find it hard to believe that Christ wants to be in a market. Didn't he turn over those tables?" -

Daniel Smith (Powell, 2002)

The co-existence of a Christ centred CCM with a market driven economy - secular labels purchase CCM labels The CCM industry’s independent labels were purchased by secular ones (Gow, n.d.; Powell, 2002; William, n.d.). Camp believes the Christian labels such as Word should pay back the amount due to terminate the contracts and return to being independent from secular influence (Powell, 2002; William, n.d.). In light of the Pauline principle "Do not be yoked together with unbelievers" (2 Corinthians 6:14), a sense of unease begins around the dysfunctional difference in the goals of either party. One is focused on the ministry, even when financial sacrifice is required; the other will hardly sacrifice financial gain for ministerial purpose unless long term financial return is promised. Financial gain is seen as the mark of success (William, n.d.) and the recent financial success of Christian media has recently confirmed the CCM market potential. Mel Gibson's film The Passion of Christ earned $370 million in box office revenue in the US alone (Richard K. Miller & Associates., 2007). Some believe the growth of Christian media is a "Long-term trend that is here to stay"(Richard K. Miller & Associates., 2007). Others do not complain about this connection and see the support that large labels provide as imperative to their network, exposure and financial support (Elvira, n.d.; Gow, n.d.). Measurement of the difference between larger artists’ income and smaller ones was difficult, although a substantial income has been documented in some instances (Stafford, 2013), through performances, records, and (if their music is used in service) CCLI royalties too (CCLI, n.d.; Stafford, 2013). The largest American church is located in Houston Texas, Lakewood church with 43,500 attendees (Sermon Central, n.d.), and attendance for Christian rock have both been known to fill stadiums (Pauley and John, 2005; Stafford, 2013).

Market size Christian/Gospel music is considered one of the fastest growing areas in recorded music history (Dawidoff, 2011; Gaille, n.d.; Gow, n.d.). In 2012, overall US music sales saw a 3.10% increase from the year before with a total of 1.66 billion albums, singles, music videos, and digital tracks sold (Gaille, n.d.). For the Christian music industry and genre, the following sale statistics occurred in 2012. One need only observe the size of the mega-churches to see the audience potential:

CHURCH NAME LOCATION MAIN LEADER

ATTENDANCE FOUNDED

LAKEWOOD CHURCH Houston, TX Joel Osteen

43,500 1959

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NORTH POINT MINISTRIES Alpharetta, GA Andy Stanley

30,629 1995

WILLOW CREEK COMMUNITY CHURCH

South Barrington, IL

Bill Hybels

25,743 1975

NEWSPRING CHURCH Anderson, SC Perry Noble

23,055 2000

CHURCH OF THE HIGHLANDS Birmingham, AL Chris Hodges

22,184 2001

SADDLEBACK CHURCH Lake Forest, CA Rick Warren

22,055 1980

SOUTHEAST CHRISTIAN CHURCH Louisville, KY Dave Stone

21,764 1962

GATEWAY CHURCH Southlake, TX Robert Morris

21,403 2000

CENTRAL CHRISTIAN CHURCH Las Vegas, NV Jud Wilhite

21,055 1962

PHOENIX FIRST ASSEMBLY OF GOD

Phoenix, AZ Luke Barnett

21,000 1924

(Sermon Central, n.d.) This can be compared to the largest churches in the United Kingdom in 2005:

CHURCH NAME ATTENDANCE LOCATION

KINGSWAY INTERNATIONAL CHRISTIAN CENTRE

10,000 Hackney

KENSINGTON TEMPLE 5,500 West London HILLSONG 5,000 Central London RUACH MINISTRIES 4,000 Brixton HOUSE OF PRAISE 2,500 Woolwich ST. THOMAS CROOKES 2,500 Sheffield HOLY TRINITY, BROMPTON 2,490 West London JESUS HOUSE FOR ALL NATIONS

2,200 Brent

ALL SOULS IN 2,000 Central London HOLY TRINITY 1,680 Cheltenham

(Breierley, n.d.) A mega-church is generally defined as a non-Catholic congregation averaging 2,000 weekly members (Lischak, n.d.; Longhenry, n.d.). There are more than 1,000 in America (Christianity Today, n.d.). The success of these churches is alleged to have begun in the 1950s (Lischak, n.d.). Some say it is a merge of American culture, a drive for size, and the sheer attractiveness of a large crowd (Christianity Today, n.d.; Lischak, n.d.). Strong structure and planning is required to support large congregations (Longhenry, n.d.). Mega-churches of 30,000 or more members can include a choir of 300 and band of 10 musicians (Lischak, n.d.). Some loathe the idea of reflecting mass culture (Christianity Today, n.d.; Lischak, n.d.), others think it reflects the New Testament mega-church on the day of Pentecost (Longhenry, n.d.). “Four distinct types of mega-churches exist today: old-line or program-based, represented by some traditional Protestant denominational congregations that exceed 2,000; “seeker” churches, mega-churches focusing on “seeker services” and bringing in the “unchurched”; charismatic, pastor-focused churches, having been built up largely on the charisma of the founding pastor; and new-wave or re-envisioned mega-churches, an emergent set of mega-churches attempting to reach a younger demographic. These four approaches lead to much variety among mega-churches; nevertheless” (Longhenry, n.d.).

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Sales stats 2012

"So, as many others have noted, reports of the alleged death of the physical CD have been highly exaggerated," Bays (Tiansay, n.d.)

In millions (Gaille, n.d.)

CCM General market Percentage of market

Total Album Sales 22.9 193 11.87%

Digital Album Sales 5.3 60 8.83%

Digital Track Sales 34.4 603 5.70%

Christian Music Industry Segment Pop/Adult Contemporary – 23% Black Gospel – 20% Rock – 16% (Gaille, n.d.) The above data displays the proportion that CCM occupied in the general US market in 20122. Album Sales

In 2012 there was a -10.02% mean average decline in the purchase of physical (CD or other) album sales. But a 13.6% mean average increase in digital album sales across all genres. The buying habits of CCM consumers seem to reflect the buying habits of normal consumers: -3.40% decrease in physical album sales and a growth in digital album sales of 11.10% in 2012 from 2011. This mirror the general physical album trends of other genres such as metal (-0.30), classical (-20.50%) and soundtracks (-5.20%). This information displays that much alike, genre purchasing habits have all adapted alike to innovative technological immediacy and storage convenience of the digital format, CCM is no exception. However, Physical still remains the format of choice with a total of 193 million physical album sales and 60 million digital. The trend displays a shift from physical to digital but may take a while to happen; one company believes this will occur within the next 3 years:

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Digital track sales 2012

Digital trends in CCM consumer habits show an increase of 6.50% in digital track sales in 2012, up from 32.2 million in 2011 to 34.4 million in 2012. 2. Total music sales are more than a half billion annually. 3. There are more than 1,400 radio stations and 80 million listeners of Christian/Gospel music. 4. Listeners age 12 and up spend an average of 9 hours per week with Christian/Gospel radio programming formats. 5. 73% of Christian/Gospel listeners are 25-54 year old and account for more than 50% of all record sales. Market size in the UK is much smaller in comparison (Cummings, n.d.). The majority of major album releases make 8,00-12,000 in sales with the average album releases selling c.2,000 copies (Cummings, n.d.). On average a top US act plays 250-300 dates a year. In the UK it's more like 25-30 (Cummings, n.d.).

How Christian artists view money

The Christian artists I interview all believe their work is guided by a channel of communication with Christ rather than money and ministry-focused (Appendix 2: Artist Questionnaires). This is the stance recommended to new artists (Brandon, n.d.; eHow, n.d.). However, they are practical, understanding the necessity to maintain their work (Appendix 2: Artist Questionnaires). Steve Camp described in his thesis many wrongs he believes he was committing and appears to assume that, because his motives were compromised in his own experience, others share the same experience (William, n.d.). However, some argue this is a personal confession, not necessary applicable to all artists (Aho, n.d.). Greg from CrossTie explains: "Yes, I do. Song writing and performing are talents and gifts from God we use to encourage others. Similar to one who uses their talents to make pews or print hymnals, build churches, etc. " (Appendix 2: Artist Questionnaires). The smaller, upcoming artists, who answered my questionnaire, perhaps saw the income from their labour enabling them to make ends meet.

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Greg's statement is supported by the overwhelming majority of my survey respondents. 84.6% said they felt that artists needed to make a living in order to professionalise their service (Appendix 1: Listening to CCM survey responses). 15.4% stated that they believed that ministry shouldn't be a premium service and that CCM artists should be relieved of this issue by working under donations. The question remains whether the donation format really does remove the pressure from the artists, who will ultimately still appeal to the tastes of the patrons/funders, rather than directly to the Lord pointing out a fundamental dilemma in motivation and integrity. Artist Dennis Jemigan believes that payment for church service is ordained:

"I believe it is not only right but I believe it is ordained of God. Matthew 10:10 says "...the worker is

worthy of his support." Those who write for the Kingdom of God must still go through the labour - the

blood, sweat, and tears - required to make that song viable. Intellectual property is still property and

provides a service to the body of Christ. God has certainly provided for me through royalties and sales

these past 33 years." - Dennis Jemigan (Appendix 2: Artist Questionnaires)

However, the issue of accessibility is questionable (Powell, 2002); in the case of Jesus on the sermon of the mount (Matthew 5-7), did he charge access to the mount? Keith Green challenged the fixed price payment method when he issued his records on a donation basis (LDM, n.d.; Lou, n.d.). This is also the underlying mission of Noisetrade, through which artists exchange their music for listeners contact details (Ashton, n.d.; “NoiseTrade | Thousands of Albums. Completely Free. Completely Legal.,” n.d.). The founding members of which are all Christians themselves (D. Strom, n.d.). Romanowski argues that 'selling help' to youths is not a healthy model for spiritual aid. Only 15.4% of my research respondants belived that a donation/sponsorship model was appropriate (Appendix 1: Listening to CCM survey responses). “It simply would not have happened on this scale without my relationship with my label and publishing partners " – Chris Tomlin (Capitol Christian Music Group, n.d.) Perhaps the abstract property of musical format versus the "hymnals", church buildings etc. that Greg mentions makes it hard for the sceptic to see the result of an artists’ time, whereas they would have little doubt contracting the former for remuneration. The majority of the smaller independent labels focus their statement around mission (Cummings, n.d.). Larger American sibling Capitol Christian Music Group (purchased by EMI) also presents a mission-focused stance by concluding ""We want to impact popular culture and resource the church through music and music-related content and services consistent with a Biblical worldview, and finally, lead with excellence and be profitable" (Capitol Christian Music Group, n.d.). Depending on how the Christian views this it can be seen as large scale profitability or humble partnership and promotion of God's worship. Romanowski argues that the argument of network, reaching more souls, was originally used to allow the commercialisation of Christianity (Romanowski, 1992), and the sale of Christian labels to secular ones (Capitol Christian Music Group, n.d.; El-Faizy, 2008; Live Prayer, n.d.), to extend the network. But Romanowski points to its rocky marriage of contrasting directions (Romanowski, 1992). Word Records state: "We package an artist's ministries in such a way that it can be multiplied to the greatest number of people. The lives of these people reflect the Word of God; if they didn't we wouldn't be in business” – Gospel Record executive (quoted in Romanowski, 1992)

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“In many cases, bands retain their relationship with their Christian labels, which continue to distribute

them to religious retailers while the secular labels handle the main- stream market. Such partnering

arrangements are easier to manage in a consolidated marketplace where most of the Christian labels

are now owned by secular media conglomerates. The three big labels, EMI, Sony BMG, and Warner

Music Group, all own smaller Christian labels.” - "establishing of recording network seemed perfectly

reasonable to evangelicals in the CCM industry… To evangelicals the marketing strategy of the

mainstream entertainment business matched the evangelistic goals of the gospel industry. The

success of evangelism was calculated by the number of souls that were saved; "souls" were

consumers" – William Romanowski (Romanowski, 1992)

Romanowski's broad sweeps of the CCM industry may expel those artists with good intentions. His article neither accepts the good fruits of some artists nor the wisdom of discernment of the listener. But it is this thin line between the need for profitability to survive and the desire for extravagant gains which leaves the listeners insecure. A pattern of acceptance of financial sustenance, whilst maintaining caution, emerged from my research. 90% believe it was necessary for CCM artists to be paid in order to professionalise their service (Appendix 1: Listening to CCM survey responses). One listener commented "I think that crossing over/ making a living off of Christian music is alright, but successful artists should definitely be giving as much money as possible to help the poor.” The fact that listeners have shown readiness to accept artists making a living does not suggest they support ostentatious living. Further research into artists’ spending habits would provide insight into the use of finances that artists make. The necessity to be profitable is felt from the bottom rungs of popularity (Appendix 2: Artist Questionnaires) right to the top. However, CCM artists believe it is a question of vocation before profitability. For them it is more a matter of vocation or calling, in Christian circles’ rather than career choice (Appendix 2: Artist Questionnaires). Those who feel it is their ministry ask why the church should receive sub-standard music. But when monetary pursuits are explicitly expressed confusion is multiplied. A recent CCM ministerial tour was sponsored by Chevrolet. This sponsorship was the headline for the events (Pauley and John, 2005). Garfield expressed these Christian events as the "last refuge from the world of dollars and cents, it's unsettling to witness a marriage of different agendas.” And it is this blurred line of profitability over ministry that the CCM community fears.

CCM and politics

There is a similar distaste for Christianity and politics as there is for coupling it with profiteering (Eckstrom, n.d.; Khan, n.d.; Meizel, 2006). Research carried out into the tea-party displayed a strongly Christian attendance, some labelling the whole event a conservative Christian affair (Khan, n.d.). This only serves to highlight the strength of Christianity in the US, by being influential at this level. The predominant warning for this affiliation is when a politician becomes successful and Christianity is seen to endorse it. Jesus sought no affiliation with politics, ruling or power on earth (Masterson, n.d., Matthew 12:7-8; 16:13, 27-28, John 6:14-15). However, American Christians point towards the founding fathers and their beliefs. They believe they have the duty to stand for the foundations of the US (Khan, n.d.). Reflecting this, candidate Herman Cain chose a song titled I am America which references Judgment Day as his campaign song (Khan, n.d.).

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Compromise

CCM compromising the message to extend the reach "The teachings of Jesus have certainly been sanitized in Western church culture…Radio stations talk about being 'upbeat and positive,' which only represents one aspect of Jesus' personality." - Paul Colman of the alt-rock band Paul Colman Trio, on Essential Records. (Brandon, n.d.) Recent artist Jamie Grace has been criticised for her successful radio song Hold Me appealing to phrases such as "I love the way you hold me" (Grace Harper et al., n.d.; Houser, n.d.; K Love, n.d.), although this has been documented to refer to the way that God holds the world in His hands (Grace Harper et al., n.d.). The other criticism was the romantic first verse about how her day was at school

I've had a long day, I just wanna relax

Don't have time for my friends, no time to chit chat

Problems at my job, wonderin' what to do

I know I should be working but I'm thinking of you and

Just when I feel this crazy world is gonna bring me down

That's when your smile comes around

Oh, I love the way you hold me, by my side you'll always be

You take each and every day, make it special in some way

I love the way you hold me, in your arms I'll always be

You take each and every day, make it special in some way

Jamie Grace - (Grace, n.d.)

The images are typical images of teenage love. However, the argument does not consider her other clear songs such as Beautiful Day which is clearly a song about her trust in God:

Wake up and smile cause it's been a while

It's been like a whole day since I stopped

so you could hold me

This child awaits strong in the faith

Lord You are the refuge that I can't wait to get to

Cause I can't let a day go, can't let a day go by

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Without thanking You for the joy that You bring to my life

Jamie Grace (Grace, n.d.)

Two articles 'Jesus is not my boyfriend' (Pruch, n.d.), and 'In Love with God?’ (NFQ, n.d.) sparked many

responses. The Christian public’s rejection of the lack of clarity was loud. Many attempted to define what a

Christian lyric is but the definition is difficult to arrive at. Is God part of the daily life of the writer, part of the

clothes they wear, what they think about, etc? Or is God a spiritual being unrelated to the common place?

Arguments on the other side of the fence may argue in favour of Song of Songs like romance as being entirely

Biblical (Song of Songs is a book in the Bible that is a poem about romantic love). But the issue appears to

surface when an artist is appearing to straddle the secular mainstream using the CCM industry as a platform

for mainstream exposure – that is, when a lyric is "spiritual enough so that the songs are included on Christian

radio rotations, and just generic enough to be featured on extreme-sports videos and MTV." This can cause

uncertainty among the CCM community. Artists are blamed for replacing words such as "Christ" and "God"

with generic words such as "you", which can have romantic implications” (Brandon, n.d.). Critics point out that

many artist hope their music will appeal to mainstream airplay (Brandon, n.d.). The history of Evanescence is a

stark example of a band using the CCM as a rung in a ladder to chart success. Because of fear of extreme cases

like this audiences are wary of cross-over lyrics in songs. This makes it difficult for cross-over artists should

they ever want to perform CCM (Price, n.d.; Romanowski, 1992; Thorne, n.d.). Although this may be the

tension with Jamie Grace’s chart song Hold Me, the rest of her body of work is quite clear. The song, Beautiful

Day, mentioned above is a case in point.

The mission statements of large players such as Z Music Television, a CCM music channel, illustrates the idea of

a soft-edged message to successfully reach a larger audience: "…we are musically positive, yet we look like

MTV" (quoted in Gow, n.d.). They remove anything that may offend the secular listener in order to further

their appeal (Gow, n.d.). The main difference in that they "leave out the violence, raw sex appeal and

disrespect for authority" (quoted in Gow, n.d.). The character of the songwriter is also secondary to cultural

contribution of their music.

Some believe that separating the secular and sacred is an impossible task (Hansen, n.d.). Everything about the invisible God, is 'spiritual'. And everything about the clothes you wear, food you eat and woman you fall in love with is 'secular'. This keeps Christians feeling 'safe' and 'secure' when listening. Cross-over band 'Six Pence None The Richer' (coined from a C.S.Lewis phrase (Clark, n.d.)) scored a hit with the song Kiss Me (Powell, 2002),written from the guitarist and husband of the lead singer to express his romantic feelings towards her (Powell, 2002). However, the Dove awards refused to award it, saying that it was well-written but did not fit with the nature of the award ceremony (Powell, 2002). It is a difficult concept to interpret as Christians believe that God created marriage as the highest state of relationship (Songs of Solomon, 1 John 4:8). One recurring assertion made by theologians is that the Hebrews did not have trouble connecting the spiritual with the fleshly. Whereas Greek philosophy taught that there was a chasm between the spiritual life of a person and their physical living, Hebrew culture did not make that separation (Carr, n.d.; Davidson, n.d.). The employment of sexual language emphasised more resonantly a potential underlying interpretation of God’s love for His church to desensitise the sexuality and/or romance of the text (Carr, n.d.; Davidson, n.d.). Country rock band Vigilantes wrote a song themed around the sexual relationship within marriage, taking its setting from Song of Solomon and was refused shelf space in Christian bookstores (Powell, 2002). There is a sense of healthy caution within the CCM community. However, the question of reality comes into play again. Are Christians exploring the full expression of life or a narrow, ‘comfortable’ & ‘safe’ band of ideas? Strangely enough, it was hymn writers such as Charles Wesley who wrote about almost every aspect of church life and included births, deaths, baptisms etc. (stars et al., n.d.).

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CCM artists own up to compromise Steve Camp, who called for a reformation in CCM said:

"Early in my own musical journey I wrote songs that neither represented good music or precise

theology. My motives were vitiated; my actions were not godly; and my lips were unclean. The thirst

for prominence and position made my heart prideful, judgmental and callused" - Steve Camp

(William, n.d.)

Testimonies such as this are a personal reflection and are hard to apply across the board. Most listeners in my survey said they used lyrics as a basis to discern their library (Appendix 2: Artist Questionnaires). Dan Lucarini describes the book Why I Left the Christian Music Industry, which is (like Camp’s) a self-confession as self-reflective, rather than applicable to all artists (Lucarini, 2004; Romanowski, n.d.). Can others self-reflection be taken as more than cautionary advice to be help personal scrutiny?

Theology in CCM lyrics A report into radio listener demographics reports 1 in 10 Christians who listen to CCM radio do not attend services (Dunham Company, n.d.), with only 71% of listeners saying they attend regularly. CCM music has an increasingly important role in defining what is learnt by Christians and non-attendants (Cummings, n.d.; Padgett, n.d.). One study has shown a trend in conservative listeners placing more value on learning through CCM lyrics and desiring the message to be clear (Padgett, n.d.). Andrew Goodliff, a Baptist theologian, believes that CCM music is "the nearest most Christians come to scripture memorization" (Goodliff, 2009).

"Christian worship should tell the whole drama of salvation. It should be a balance between objective

and subjective, or as Matt Redman puts it, a balance between ‘revelation and response.’…Christian

worship should be pedagogical, that is, forming the congregation as the people of God."

– Andrew Goodliff (Goodliff, 2009)

Superficially it would appear that the listener is applying their ear to support good music and weed out the bad. By not adding them to their collection they are creating a filter of what the church might consider erroneous. Some find the idea that the safety required in repeat marketing, pre-packaged messages is a limitation (Coleman, n.d.; Cummings, n.d.). It may limit CCM from being more than it is capable of in terms of expression or teaching (Brandon, n.d.; Chapin and Chapin, n.d.; Stafford, 2013; Ward, n.d.). Perhaps CCM is not heretical, yet it may be narrow in the same way, that low-budget clothes shops don't take risks, there are fewer people on the extremes as they need to sell in bulk to make it work. In the same way there are fewer people interested in the extremes of theology, Christology (study of Christ), eschatology (the study of the end times)(Brandon, n.d.) to articles that talk about solid food). One-size -fits-all will work better for the volume of sales. This is the milk that Paul spoke of - he longed to give the church solid food, but they weren't ready. There are record labels dedicated to worship. Listening to an Integrity or Vineyard release is nothing

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short of riveting. The music keeps getting 'better and better', but the words are 'mining' deep into the canon of Scripture. (Brandon, n.d.)

"In the past several years there has been a non-so-subtle drifting away from Christocentric music to

an anthropocentric music… [CCM] originally began unashamedly declaring Jesus Christ as Lord.

Within a few years His name was replaced by several generic titles filtering out the name of God

ultimately to the non-specific cognomen, "Love." This led to a multitude of synonyms: "The Man

Upstairs"; "My Higher Power"; "Our Family Values Expert"; ad nauseam...ad infinitum. Os Guinness is

"spot on" when saying "[we have seen a change] from the emphasis on 'serving God', to an emphasis

on 'serving the self' in serving God." - Steve Camp (William, n.d.)

The role of CCM music as pedagogy

Baptist theologian Andrew Goodliff describes how the music of four of Britain’s cornerstone CCM worship artists serve only some aspects of Christ's character (Goodliff, 2009). Some listeners mention a distaste for the simplicity of modern CCM, preferring new bands playing old hymns or writing new ones (Smietana, n.d.) because of theology. Some believe the writers "should be Ministers singing mini-sermons or lesson” (Goodliff, 2009). Hipster churches are also among those that prefer to be left out of Christian mainstream and so sing hymns (McCracken, n.d.). Prominent British CCM artist Stewart Townend present a case for the need for CCM songwriters to write about the entire spectrum of life to be placed in their songs (stars et al., n.d.). Townend explains that traditional writers explored every aspect of church life effectively. One theologian believes that the Christ-centredness of CCM is positive, but the angle of love is over emphasised at the expense of Christ’s offices as: priest, king, etc. (Goodliff, 2009) "An analysis of these songs must acknowledge that ‘[songs] are theological, but they are not systematic theology.’ The songs of charismatic worship are songs majority of their songs are addressed to or about Jesus. A compromise of narrative encounter with God rather than an expression of doctrinal beliefs." – Andrew Goodliff (Goodliff, 2009) Matt Redman’s famous song Heart of Worship theme is focused on Christ centredness:

When the music fades

and all has slipped away

and I simply come.

Longing just to be

something that's of worth

that will bless Your heart.

I'll bring You more than a song,

for a song in itself

is not what You have required.

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You search much deeper within,

through the way things appear,

You’re looking into my heart.

- Matt Redman (Redman, n.d.)

Goodliff questions the depth and span of congregational songs, focused mainly on relationship with God rather than doctrine. Many agree on the importance of music in the teachings of the church (Camp, n.d.; Krause, n.d.; Thatcher, n.d.). Camp would agree it needs to be fully pedagogical theologically (Camp, n.d.). James Smith, professor of philosophy at Calvin Institute of Christian Worship, believes it is a pedagogy in itself of loving God as a congregation (Smith, n.d.). But in Goodliff’s argument of CCM theological songs against the Psalms (the bibles hymn book) there are some potential fallacies as the Psalms do not directly teach the entire span of theology. It may transpire then that the concern may lie predominantly in the desire to remove errant theology (Krause, n.d.) from CCM songs rather than switch from relationship to doctrinal themed song. Kraus points out that in one song the addition of one word “my” into a biblical quote “All things work together for good” creates a certain theological interpretation (Krause, n.d.). Kraus argues that the quote has been modified to be about the singer (humanistic) rather than about ‘things’ working for God’s glory, Chris- centred. Casting Crowns explains in their song All You’ve Ever Wanted:

So I'll stop living off of how I feel

And start standing on Your truth revealed

- Casting Crowns (Crowns, n.d.)

This idea of Goodlif of revelation as the basis by which Christian songs should be serving Christian purposes may be one

aspect of song-writing within the CCM spectrum but may to be the Biblical priority. Human emotions are prevalent in

the Psalms, personal expressions of despair, a relationship between King David and God. From the sample of top 10

Christian songs from March 2013 – 2014, the major theme was trust and hope in God (Appendix 4 – Song themes, top 10

songs March 2013 – March 2014). The lyrics expressed personal despair matched with a devotion and trust towards

God.

D=The frequent critique of depth of song lyrics does not put CCM on the line but may simply necessitate the wisdom of the listener to interpret what makes a good and bad song through solid scriptural understanding.

Christians apply discernment For the Christian nothing is accepted without Biblical validation, whether it is listening to Radio one or Premier Christian radio. Christians carry out a mental review of what they are listening to, seeing etc. Relating this to Camp's theses, strategically published on the commemoration day of Martin Luther’s theses, Camp's theses had the power to shock(Aho, n.d.; CCMA, n.d.; DTM, n.d.; A. Strom, n.d.; William, n.d.) and thereby prompt readers to think. When asked to describe the condition of the industry, 73.1% of respondents opted for "I don't see it as one entity, I judge each artist separately" (Appendix 1: Listening to CCM survey responses). This would follow suit with the Christian idea of not judging another person’s motives but rather the results (Ward, n.d.). Jon Foreman, Switchfoot frontman, feels that he is meeting his mission (Hailes, n.d.). Fans post on forums to express the positive influence Switchfoot has been on them (Gracegal, n.d.)

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Listeners’ method of choosing their record collection was to appeal to the lyrics to form their catalogue (78.6%) (Appendix 1: Listening to CCM survey responses). The data would suggest that the listeners are using the wisdom of discernment that the apostle Paul appeals to each Christian to grow in. Further research could clarify whether they test for Biblical theology or authenticity within the songwriting of a cross-over artist’s. Padgett carried out a study on liberal and conservative listener’s views (Padgett, n.d.) and the impact of the record label, to measure the level of assumed trust given to different labels.

Gender One predominant question in the church today is the issue of female leadership (Ellis, n.d.; Waltke, n.d.). Geographic information shows that the predominant listeners to Christian music radio programs are women aged 18-44 (Dunham Company, n.d.), and the trend for teaching programs shows the same demographic trend. The financial incentive to target this market may raise the question of balance in serving both genders. Some believe the radio stations encourage adult contemporary, as a female-focused genre (Duin, n.d.). Does Christian radio music serve the female demographic or does it serve both male and female needs? Further study may be insightful into any potential imbalance. This is an issue that is currently being discussed. However, it appears to be focused around the role of women in leadership from the pulpit rather than their role in worship leading. Female worship leaders are common place in CCM, from Darlene Zschech, Kari Jobe, Martha Munizzi, to Brooke Fraser amongst others. It is to be seen whether the resolution surrounding the recent feminist resurgence will change the church's perspective on worship leading. The main changes that have occurred in fundamental believers can be seen in John Piper's call to a ‘complementary’ viewpoint (Piper, n.d.), which re-dresses the mis-treatment of women but assumes that God's created differences, or that of an ‘egalitarian’ viewpoint which assumes potential differences but they are not inequalising differences and are contextualised. When the Bible is viewed from an infallible standpoint, the former view the Bible as infallible with pre-determined gender roles. The latter see a need for change in interpretation.

Self-promotion - the conflict between getting the word out vs laying down self

"My take on this is to first seek the Lord in everything you do. Then we are to GO and make disciples.

This can't be accomplished if you and your music are hidden away, thus making marketing a necessity

of this type of ministry." - Greg, CrossTie (Appendix 2: Artist Questionnaires)

"Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.”

– Jesus (Luke 9:23, English Standard Version)

2012-13 Billboard Christian findings One positive change in this area can be seen by analysing the CCM Billboard charts. In the period from March 2013-March 2014, the weekly top 10 songs, the average number of songwriters was 3 per song (Appendix 5 – Chart songwriters tally March 2013 – March 2014). In the case of You are I Am the number of writers was 9 (Appendix 5 – Chart songwriters tally March 2013 – March 2014). The idea of collaboration creates a shared interest rather than a selfish one (Maxwell, 2012). Several of the top songs were worship songs. Worship songs typically place the focus on

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God (or Christ), whereas, cross over artists place the focus on the human experience of the artists (Goodliff, 2009). Perhaps Steve Camp’s theses written in 1997 is shown in the focus towards God, a call for reformation from a human-centred approach (Part 1).

Figure 1Tempo (measured in BPM) of Billboard Christian chart songs March 2013 - March 2014 (Roberts, n.d.)

The place of worship and performance in CCM

"Worship music is a CCM category typified by lyrics of hymn like praise for God and repeated choruses

that lend themselves to sing-alongs at concerts, church services and youth group events."- (Ward,

n.d.)

"Originally CCM was taken on for 'ministerial' purpose: evangelism and worship. Not

Entertainment…" - Romanowski (Romanowski, 1992)

There appear to be fewer tensions with church worship. It is a growing portion of the market (Stafford, 2013; Ward, n.d.) but is less questioned as it has a clear and biblical basis (Brandon, n.d.). Some doubt that CCM should have any function other than worship and building the church (William, n.d.) Occasionally bands such as Delirious? can pair worship with entertainment effectively (Brain, n.d.; Brandon, n.d.; Powell, 2002). The Billboard Christian song charts displayed a balance between worship and performance songs (Roberts, n.d.).

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The number one spot was evenly shared between performance and worship (Roberts, n.d.). However, only three of the thirty-five songs in the charts within a year were not CCLI registered. CCLI, which stands for ‘Christian Copyright Licensing International’, is the governing body that collects royalties from all the churches when an artist’s song is performed (CCLI, n.d.). This could be as part of the congregational singing, in between the singing and sermon, or as background music for a slideshow or at a church concert. It was difficult to decipher whether a song was registered to stay on the safe side in case it should ever be used, or with the intention that they might be sung by the congregation, played on a slideshow or performed in the intervals. The large proportion of worship songs may be a key to understanding the fact that on average CCM music tempo was slower (average of 95.56 BPM (Roberts, n.d.)) than the average tempo secular charts (2013 – 104 BPM, 2012 – 124 BPM (Bennett, n.d.).). Perhaps reflecting the influx of worship songs in CCM music. However, it would appear that the distinction between worship only being in the church and performances in the church but not being congregational is a difficult line to draw (Taylor, n.d.). A guideline for differentiation would be a useful tool for easier categorisation.

Is CCM bad art? Cross Rhythms claim that when Christians consume music they are more likely to consume secular music than CCM

(Cummings, n.d.). The size of share of the market (2.6% Christian, whereas 20.4% pop share of the US music market in

2013) makes for a smaller audience, less demand, less space for variety. Perhaps due to the fears of the church of

watering itself down, Christians have a sub-conscious rejection for wordings that are unfamiliar or phrasing that does

not quite fit a presently accepted vocabulary (Haught, n.d.). The more familiar the sound of what is being sung, the

better.

"I started writing songs when I was about fourteen, and I thought that the church would be a good

place to sing those songs. I thought I would find an audience there that would want to listen to songs

about spiritual things. But I found that the church was a lot more restrictive and narrow-minded than

I had thought; I felt strangled as a writer. And so I parted with that." – Sam Phillips (Scheer, n.d.)

"I don't think the words positive and encouraging have been historically been adequate to describe

Christian life" - Audrey Assad (Stafford, 2013)

Some claim that the popular demand for worship music stifles creativity (Scheer, n.d.; Ward, n.d.). It is a genre that predominantly focuses on the love of God, occasionally at the expense of other topics (Ward, n.d.). This is linked into the idea that Christian music isn't 'real' (Challies, n.d.; Foreman, n.d.; MacIntosh, n.d.; Piatt, n.d.; Ward, n.d.), that it repeats several accepted phrasal 'riffs' (Bennett, n.d.; Piatt, n.d.). Some feel that, instead of human expressions of pain in the Psalms, CCM gives blanket happy answers to everything (Brandon, n.d.; MacIntosh, n.d.; Piatt, n.d.; Stafford, 2013). U2 advocates claim the band aims to be this authentic voice of human expression (Brackney, 2011; Cantle and Brackney, 2010). Once again it is the role of the cross-over artist to truly be human. Some see Christian music as only affirming positivity rather than tackling issues (MacIntosh, n.d.)

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"The kingdom of heaven is comprised of the broken, the fatherless, the poor, the starving… Nothing

that could create good ratings for NBC." - John Foreman (Challies, n.d.)

The issue of church pressure is one that is ever popping up from artists who decide to cross-over:

"It's different than just being a Christian band. When you're a Christian band, you put a label on

yourself that says, 'Christian.' When you add 'worship' to that, it's a whole other level of expectation

added," he said. "It was a lot of pressure... I call it battles, but people get tired of it. People grow

weary in doing well." - Audrey Assad (Ward, n.d.)

"Artist like Third Day ("the Christian Hootie and the Blowfish") and Rebecca St. James ("the Christian

Alanis Morissette") have been marketed as though they were low-fat cheese: "almost as tasty as the

real thing -- and better for you!" - (Powell, 2002)

This market-driven alternative model seems to frustrate some listeners (Powell, 2002; Ward, n.d.). However, in some cases secular artists admire CCM ones. In the case of CeCe Winans, supposedly the CCM imitation of Whitney Houston, Whitney is quoted to have said that Winans was her personal favourite (Powell, 2002). D.C. Talks modern rock-rap song Jesus Freak is now a standard of modern rock (Powell, 2002), and even Rolling Stones accepted it stylistically, even if not lyrically (Powell, 2002). P.O.D, Switchfoot, Relient K and others have been successful. However, the latter are cross-over artists. The cross-over artists appears to have more license for creative expression than the CCM artists. This we will look at in more detail further along. "Christians are as vulnerable to the struggles of self-doubt and weariness as those who have not found Christ, However, those without Christ can explore and even glorify their angst in a way that is often unfit for believers. But what happens to the Christian songwriter's lyrics when his walk is dry and he feels far from God?" - Jones (Brandon, n.d.) This complaint is shared on website forums (Mumford & Sons Forum, n.d.; Powell, 2002). Supporters of cross-over bands such as Switchfoot assure sceptics that, in less recurring mentions of "Christ" and "God", cross-over music is not forced into formula and therefore a more authentic expression (Foreman, n.d., n.d.; Houston, n.d.). However, some are concerned that this doesn't justify a lack of referencing to God. They quote how David wrote many Psalms which are authentic anguishing complaints, mostly referring back to God, As many as 67 lament Psalms (Muehlenberg, n.d.) Psalm 142 begging’s with “I pour out my complaint before him” (Psalm 142:2). Jars of Clay were founded around the idea that Christian's do not have one-stop answers for everything but endure the human fragile struggle (Powell, 2002), hence they choose the name "Jars of clay", containing the sacred in fragile human vessels (Franklin, n.d.). And this lack of

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authenticity is criticised by some for providing no real 'help' for young people particularly in guiding them through issues such as sexual temptation (Romanowski, 1992). Some bands have broken this mould, in true one-size-does-not-fit-all fashion. Bands such as D.C.Talk enabled Christian youth in America to express the social repression they were feeling (Cummings, n.d.; Powell, 2002) They could assimilate their personal fear and know that across the airwaves many other 'Jesus Freaks' now had an anthem (Powell, 2002).

Cross Over

Definition of cross-over music

"Crossover" is the name given to musicians in specialized genres (such as CCM, Country and Western,

or Jazz) that can successfully market their music to the larger industry."(Scheer, n.d.).

Types of CCM cross-overs:

"Some, such as Bob Dylan, Bruce Cockburn, and Donna Summers are musicians that became

Christians mid-career and saw no reason to leave the secular market. Others were Christians long

before they had to pick a record label, but chose not to join the Christian market. Among the many

bands that have Christian members are: T Bone Burnett, U2, The Alarm, Take 6, After the Fire, King's

X, Stryper, Maria McKee, and Robin Lane. Of these, only Stryper intentionally entered the secular

market in order to evangelize. The others either didn't know that the CCM market existed, or felt that

its market was too small." - (Scheer, n.d.)

Church endorsement of cross-over music Christian television broadcaster Z Music Television re-branded their fundamental Christian edge in order to reach out further (Gow, n.d.). However the question remains in the CCM discussions, once words such as "Christ" are swapped for idea about love and relationships in general, whether the power of the gospel remains (Hendershot, 2010; Romanowski, 1992, n.d.; Scheer, n.d.). The apostle Paul said that the power of the gospel did not sound wise to people (1 Corinthians 1:17), but was simply about believing that Jesus really did die and live again (1 Corinthians 1:17). This paradox of avoiding stigma yet having some power in the words is one that plagues Cross-over artists on forums and blogs all over the internet. The response given depends on the standpoint of the artist. Jon Foreman, frontman of cross-over band Switchfoot, shows little concern in an interview with Christianity Today, that everyone can interpret his message (Hailes, n.d.) differently. The message of their hit Mean to Live suggests a purpose and destiny beyond the commonplace. And uses the Biblical words: “redemption”, “salvation”, “forgiveness” but avoids using strongly associated words such as “Christ” or “God”. Salvation, redemption and forgiveness are soft words that already form part of films and accepted popular religious consciousness (Clark, 2006)

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Maybe redemption has stories to tell

Maybe forgiveness is right where you fell

Where can you run to escape from yourself?

Where you gonna go?

Where you gonna go?

Salvation is here

- John Foreman (Switchfoot, 2000)

The paradox is that cross-over artists who say that they are more real than CCM artists blame the CCM music for being shallow and inexpressive (Goins, n.d.; Romanowski, n.d.). But the cross-over artists can contradict themselves when they hide or conceal the truth of their message. Both have their good arguments. In the case of Switchfoot, it does accomplish its attempt to avoid "simplistic lyrics, predictable chord progressions, and trite analogies." (Goins, n.d.) Meant to Live has a message of hope, based on the Christian faith of the band, without the harsh edges of Christian cultural language and heavy theological vocabulary.

"There are two main types of Christian music: Christ above culture -with the explicit, preaching-the-

gospel type lyrics, vs. Christ in paradox with culture, where Christian messages are present, but not

directly implied" - (Thorne, n.d.)

Switchfoot will play CCM circuit festivals (Creation Fest, the other one), and quotes CCM influences (Matt Redman, Delirious?, Five Iron Frenzy, Michelle Tumes, etc.) However, they avoid being called a 'Christian band', lead singer Jon Foreman states that they are "Christians in a band" rather than 'a Christian band' (Gardner, n.d.; Switchfoot Community, n.d.; Thorne, n.d.). Evanescence made the same statement although cut their roots (Lopetegui, n.d.).

"By reaching more listeners in the mainstream music industry, bands such as Switchfoot can be used

as a Trojan horse into the non-Christian world." – Caleb Thorne (Thorne, n.d.)

"To be honest, this question grieves me because I feel that it represents a much bigger issue than

simply a couple SF tunes. In true Socratic form, let me ask you a few questions: Does Lewis or Tolkien

mention Christ in any of their fictional series? Are Bach’s sonata’s Christian? What is more Christ-like,

feeding the poor, making furniture, cleaning bathrooms, or painting a sunset?" - (Switchfoot

Community, n.d.)

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This raises the question as to why music should be seen as any different from any other professionalization within which Christians are engaged(Brandon, n.d.), without the pressure to define their purpose more than earning a living. Perhaps this discomfort refers back to the Christian unsettled nervousness and constant redefining. Or from another point of view, why is it considered unacceptable for CCM to honour God in its creative expression, like writing a group of pieces titled The Well-Tempered Clavier in which Bach, did not provide any religious title, even though he is considered a Christian composer (R. Stapert, n.d.)?

"The term 'Christian musician' no longer means a musician who happens to be Christian. It connotes a

genre in which Jesus Christ is praised or specifically addressed. When these artists say they are not

'Christian musicians,' they're not trying to deny their relationship with Christ. They’re saying, 'I don't

make that kind of music.'" – John Brandon (Brandon, n.d.)

This relates back to discussion on Biblical interpretation. Should Christians interact with society so as to be "salt and light" (Schultz, n.d.), or should they stay outside of culture (Menzie, n.d.). Some believe the language of the church too full of taxonomy for a secular audience to understand the meaning and CCM a 'ghetto' culture that is disconnected (Johansson and Bell, 2012; Menzie, n.d.; Price, n.d.). Most Christians want to see cultural Christian influence but confused about whether to engage within it (Long, n.d.; Wade, n.d.). Many, especially cross-over artists, perceive the separation of Christianity from culture as disengaging (Hansen, n.d.; Menzie, n.d.). Hansen argues that a pair of Christian jeans are no more likely to go to heaven than ones made by non-believers (Hansen, n.d.). This separation grieves many evangelists and confuses the mainstream public. Romanowski argues that the evangelical charismatic movement, the predominant CCM protagonists, concerns itself only with the second coming that it saw "other cultural activity to an inferior status" (Romanowski, 1992). He argues in 'Hipster Faith' that charismatic movements separated themselves from conservative denominations that wish to exert socio-political influence. Their nature is to separate themselves from any ‘established’ faith (Olsen, n.d.). Artists such as Evanescence toured at Christian festivals (Billboard Biz, n.d.). They then cut themselves off from their roots (Billboard Biz, n.d.; Cracked, n.d.; Fiasco, n.d.; Lopetegui, n.d.). Much in the way that Ray Charles modified black gospel songs to suit a secular R&B style (Romanowski, 1992). Multiple articles still linger on the internet, recycling the bruise this act caused (REF) when bands use CCM as a springboard. There remains a tension between wanting to launch out the message into the mainstream, and distaste for bands that do not profess a clear vision that can keep Christians in the know (Brandon, n.d.). An important component of CCM cross-over is its acceptance. When "Jesus Music" was released its intention was to avoid the stigma associated with the word "Christian" (Scheer, n.d.). Cross-over artists still attempt to avoid this stigma today (Scheer, n.d.; Ward, n.d.). The onlooker would be no fool for thinking that CCM proponents should be happy with cross-over artists mainstream exposure (Charismatic Central, n.d.; Schultz, n.d.). However, "it is one of the on-going controversies within the industry" (Scheer, n.d.). Some Christian artists like P.O.D are behaving and acting in a way intended to reach sub-cultures (Brandon, n.d.; Godtube.com, n.d.; McCracken, n.d.). They are rejected by some for appearing to be too assimilated to the culture (Brandon, n.d.; Lucarini, 2004; Romanowski, 1992). Whilst P.O.D defend their posture using the example of Jesus who was insulted by the pious by mixing with 'sinners' and being called a 'drunkard' (Brandon, n.d.). There is a difference in the mind of the believer between engaging through appealing to the culture of non-believer, however a rejection when these cultures are assimilated in the church (Lucarini, 2004; McCracken, n.d.). Yet they are quite clear in their lyrics:

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He's coming back

He's coming back for me and you

It's the low down, the showdown, brothers ready to throw down

No need for us to go down the truth is what we know now

That we have life through my Lord Christ Jesus

No one can love you more than to do the things that He did

So give Him your pass so that He can start to mold ya

Full fledget, dedicated, gardcore, Christian soldier

Spiritual war, it's a spiritual bout

And we're the first ones in P.O.D. and we're the last ones out

He's coming back

He's coming back for me and you

- P.O.D Coming Back (P.O.D, n.d.)

When the beat starts pumping

That's it -- Yeah

The hitman's on the mic getting lyrically sick

My boys with the tools to groove

To make you want to move

The P.O.D is rock'n

And we have nothing to prove

So with the mic in my hand

Let me state this now

You can get with this

Ain't no way no how

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Forget your fingers homeboy

You'll do the walking

No need for words

We let the music do the talking

God made me

And I'm funky

We're set free

Close your eyes and let your heart see

God made me

It's the P.O.D. and we're funky

We're set free

For all eternity

- P.O.D Let the Music Do the Talking (P.O.D, n.d.)

Final Thoughts An apparent issue with my research is that I intend on being a CCM artist, and perhaps subconsciously coming from this angle, I bring my own intention to my research. The wisdom of the reader is required to decide when elements of the work come under this influence. True to form, money seems to be at the root of all potential evils (Luke 16:13, Mat 6:19-21, 1 Tim 6:10-12) in CCM music. Desire to cross-over for greater market success affect the depth of theology, replacing words that don't get airplay. It is a question of motive, a murkier research area (Ward, n.d.), with little quantitative data. Each Christian feels the need for wisdom in assessing this. However in some cases, where the obvious compromises aren't on display, it is difficult even for the most shrewd artists to discover the truth (Matthew 3:12). Many of the issues are more discomforts with certain fears of misuse. However the general feeling is that the CCM industry is working well, perhaps headed in the right direction towards a praise and worship focus, a focus away from self-promotion towards God. The Billboard charts confirm this trend. In terms of CCM's discomfort with cross-over artists, this area is hard to measure in effectiveness. It is perhaps similar to subliminal marketing. With a popular brand such as Coca-Cola, wherever you look there may be a red poster or a bottle or an advert, the presence of branding is effective at the moment a consumer makes a purchasing decition. This is difficult to measure, one would need to ask how many posters did the person see before purchasing the drink? I don't want to make you any more thirsty. But the issue is that cross-over artists are giving a positive Christian world view whether they set out to on a mission or just as human beings expressing themselves as a professional songwriter (Brandon, n.d.; Schultz, n.d.). Both types will express the Christ-view they have adopted.

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More pressing insight perhaps should be gained into whether the hope of crossing over can affect the lyrics of supposedly CCM ministry artists. Cross-over artists aren't expected to give strong theology but pure-bred worship artists seem to have a stronger responsibility. Another explanation for the lack of cross-over acceptance in the church setting may be the misalignment with New Testament worship format. These were to be moments for sharing thoughts that would edify. And those thoughts were: a Psalm, a hymn or a spiritual song (Ephesians 5:19, 1 Corinthians 14:26). The purpose of the gathering had a priority of meeting with God, or encouraging others from this biblical standpoint. Songs of romantic love perhaps have a limited, not to be rejected, space within worship times. In terms of alternative models, they should be sought out. Even democratic models of leadership can be manipulated for the best result of the individual. Much prayer and ‘Holy Spirit’ guidance is required for understanding each case as it comes. If Lyrics are the Christian component in CCM, you could assume that a form could be suggested. A definition of what makes lyrics Christians without creating rules, and rules are not natural in a relationship with a living God. Those who do not listen to CCM resist the idea of listening to something separate from them; something they feel was made out of obligation rather than conversation with a creator God. One interesting observation for future study may be to assess the differences in the views of denominations. In one church I emailed, the pastor wrote back saying he felt none of his members would show any interest in CCM, or listened to it. What is the difference in the denominations? Is there a difference between traditional and evangelical? Interesting conclusions could be arrived at to see whether there is none or little conservative market. Some work has been done into the listening habits of charismatics and conservatives by Ray Padgett In Jesus Rocks My Soul (Padgett, n.d.). As a Christian artist myself, every argument seems to have its validity and reasoning. Thoughts such as Camp’s: "...is not the tenacity of character and the Biblical courage of heart and mind to do the right thing no matter what the cost" (William, n.d.) resound the strongest with Biblical theology. However cross-over influence is also valid; so is writing love songs. If we remove the interpretation we've attempted, isn't one of the central books, Song of Songs, and "highest song" merely a romantic, sometimes sexual love song? Can we remove this biblical expression? Therefore, I have aimed in this essay to not take sides. Each artist needs to choose their 'calling', and not criticise, or look down upon the calling of another. From a personal point of view, I have aimed to take the views of respondents, artists and audience alike, previous research and my own perspective with objectivity as a case of the individual fulfilling their function within CCM uniquely and irreplaceably, the best that they are.

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(accessed 3.19.14). Schultz, D.R., n.d. The Deed in the Jar: Contemporary Crises and the Christian Future [WWW Document]. URL

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Smietana, B., n.d. Modern hymn writers revive a lost musical art | Religion News Service [WWW Document]. URL http://www.religionnews.com/2013/04/30/modern-hymn-writers-revive-a-lost-musical-art/ (accessed 4.18.14).

Smith, J.K.A., n.d. Love Takes Practice: Christian Worship as a Pedagogy of Desire [WWW Document]. URL http://worship.calvin.edu/resources/resource-library/love-takes-practice-christian-worship-as-a-pedagogy-of-desire/ (accessed 4.24.14).

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Switchfoot Community, n.d. “Why Switchfoot won’t sing Christian songs” - What Do You Believe? - Switchfoot Community [WWW Document]. URL http://community.switchfoot.com/index.php?/topic/11530-why-switchfoot-wont-sing-christian-songs/ (accessed 3.6.14).

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Appendix 1: Listening to CCM survey responses The following questionnaire was filled in by 111 US citizens. Its purpose was to understand their views regarding the

issues researched in my paper.

1. Which type of CCM do you most frequently listen to?

58%

42%

1. Performance/Worship balance

Worship/Praise

Entertainment

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Value Count Percent

Worship/Praise 63 58.3%

Entertainment (rock,pop,reggae) 45 41.7%

Statistics

Total Responses 108

2. Which of the following do you think best describes your view (please explain with comments if

necessary) on CCM music. Multiple boxes may be selected

Value Count Percent

CCM music should be for edifying the church through praise and worship 79 79.0%

CCM should provide a safe alternative for youth from secular artists/bands 52 52.0%

CCM is there to evangelise to the lost 42 42.0%

Statistics

Total Responses 100

46%

30%

24%

2. The purpose of CCM

CCM music should be for edifyingthe churchthrough praise and worship

CCM should provide a safealternative for youthfrom secular artists/bands

CCM is there to evangelise to thelost

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3. Which of the following best describes your views about the condition of the CCM industry?

Value Count Percent

Serving the church well 17 16.0% Questions need to be resolved (please specify in the end comments) 14 13.2%

I don't see it as one entity, I judge each artist separately 75 70.8%

Statistics

Total Responses 106

4. Of the following, which best describes the amount of attention you give to the lyrics/style in a CCM song?

Value Count Percent I generally listen to the style of music, it's mostly background entertainment 29 27.1%

I listen to the lyrics closely, it's partly how I choose my collection 78 72.9%

16%

13%

71%

2. Overview of condition

Serving the church well

Questions need to be resolved(please specify in the endcomments)

I don't see it as one entity, I judgeeach artist seperately

27%

73%

4. Chosing their collection

I generally listen to the style of music,it's mostly background entertainment

I listen to the lyrics closely, it's partlyhow I choose my collection

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Statistics

Total Responses 107

5. Do you consider CCM to be good quality music?

Value Count Percent

CCM is generally inferior quality to secular music 22 20.2%

CCM is better quality than secular music 7 6.4%

CCM is not original enough 10 9.2%

It depends on the artist 70 64.2%

Statistics

Total Responses 109

20%

7%

9%64%

5. Assesment of CCM quality

CCM is generally inferior quality tosecular music

CCM is better quality than secularmusic

CCM is not original enough

It depends on the artist

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6. When was the last time you purchased CCM music?

Value Count Percent

Within the last month 22 20.6%

Within the last 6 months 13 12.2%

Within the last year 13 12.2%

I stream CCM instead (Spotify, Rdio, YouTube etc.) 59 55.1%

Statistics

Total Responses 107

21%

12%

12%

55%

6. Purchasing trend

Within the last month

Within the last 6 months

Within the last year

I stream CCM instead (Spotify, Rdio,Youtube etc.)

24%

17%

8%18%

13%

20%

7. Event trends Pt.1

Within the last month

Within the last 6 months

Within the last year

More than a year ago

I can't remember

I've never been to one

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7. When was the last time you went to a CCM worship/praise event?

Value Count Percent

Within the last month 26 24.1%

Within the last 6 months 18 16.7%

Within the last year 9 8.3%

More than a year ago 19 17.6%

I can't remember 14 13.0%

I've never been to one 22 20.4%

Statistics

Total Responses 108

8. When was the last time you went to a CCM entertainment rock, pop, etc. concert?

Value Count Percent

Within the last month 8 7.4%

Within the last 6 months 16 14.8%

Within the last year 17 15.7%

More than a year ago 28 25.9%

I can't remember 10 9.3%

I've never been to one 29 26.9%

Statistics

Total Responses 108

7%

15%

16%

26%

9%

27%

8. Event trends Pt.2

Within the last month

Within the last 6 months

Within the last year

More than a year ago

I can't remember

I've never been to one

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9. Do you believe it is appropriate for an artist to earn a living from CCM music?

Value Count Percent

No, it is not appropriate 0 0.0%

Yes, they need to professionalise to serve better 96 89.7% Yes, but through donations/sponsorship. The gospel can't be sold. 11 10.3%

Statistics

Total Responses 107

10. What is your view on bands such as Switchfoot, P.O.D and U2 about cross-over music?

Value Count Percent

0%

90%

10%

9. Artist Financing

No, it is not appropriate

Yes, they need to professionalise toserve better

Yes, but throughdonations/sponsorship. The gospelcan't be sold.

8%

12%

3%

13%64%

10. Cross-over clarity

They should be clear, presentingthe gospel

They are they primarily to sowseeds and influence culture

They shouldn't be crossing over

It depends on each case, no onecan judge

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They should be clear, presenting the gospel 9 8.4%

They are they primarily to sow seeds and influence culture 13 12.2%

They shouldn't be crossing over 3 2.8%

It depends on each case, no one can judge 14 13.1% Christians don't have to make their band Christian, they can be Christians in a secular band. 68 63.6%

Statistics

Total Responses 107

11. Which of the following best expresses your opinion on the CCM record industry?

Value Count Percent Jesus would have been mad, it shouldn't exist as a commercial industry sustained entity 5 4.6% Paul said each man is worthy of his wage, Christian's use the market to spread the gospel to a wider audience 43 39.8%

I think it's neutral, depending on each artist 51 47.2%

Other. Please comment in comment box at the end 9 8.3%

Statistics

Total Responses 108

5%

40%

47%

8%

11. Views on the Industry

Jesus would have been mad, itshouldn't exist as a commercialindustry sustained entity

Paul said each man is worthy ofhis wage, Christian's use themarket to spread the gospel to awider audience

I think it's neutral, depending oneach artist

Other. Please comment in thefinal comment box (availablebelow)

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12. How do you most regularly consume CCM?

Value Count Percent

Streaming (Spotify, Deezer, Rdio, YouTube etc.) 68 63.0%

CD 21 19.4%

iTunes, Amazon or other digital format (mp3, etc.) purchasing 33 30.6%

Radio programmes 33 30.6%

Conference and gatherings/worship events 23 21.3%

Statistics

Total Responses 108

13. What is your gender?

Value Count Percent

Male 73 67.0%

38%

12%18%

19%

13%

12. Consumption habits

Streaming (Spotify, Deezer, Rdio,Youtube etc.)

CD

iTunes, Amazon or other digitalformat (mp3, etc.) purchasing

Radio programmes

Conference andgatherings/worship events

67%

33%

13. Gender

Male

Female

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Female 36 33.0%

Statistics

Total Responses 109

14. Which of the following best describes your occupation

Value Count Percent

Student 60 55.1%

Retired 2 1.8%

Homemaker 1 0.9%

Employed 36 33.0%

Self-Employed 7 6.4%

Unemployed 2 1.8%

Other 1 0.9%

Statistics

Total Responses 109

55%

2%1%

33%

6%2%1%

14. Occupation

Student

Retired

Homemaker

Employed

Self-Employed

Unemployed

Other

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15. What is your age?

Value Count Percent

12-15 1 0.9%

16-24 60 55.6%

25-34 33 30.6%

35-44 8 7.4%

45-54 0 0.0%

55-64 5 4.6%

65+ 1 0.9%

Under 12 0 0.0%

Statistics

Total Responses 108

Sum 2,417.0

Avg. 22.4

StdDev 10.2

Max 65

16. Here's your chance to explain any of your answers, extrapolate your thoughts or even say hi!

Response

Interesting research... I'm curious what your goals are with this?

I think that crossing over/ making a living off of Christian music is alright, but successful artists should definitely be giving as much money as possible to help the poor.

I visited a new church this morning that played a U2 song during the worship music. The drum led, I could hardly hear the words or follow the melody...NOT my definition of music used to encourage worship! (I didn't get a chance to complain there, so you get it!) :)

67%

33%

15. Age

Male

Female

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You can't judge simply on the music, it's based on the artist's heart! And it's not my job to do that ;) Switchfoot is my all-time favourite band, and their songs are so much more honest than typical CCM. I prefer worship over entertainment CCM cause the latter is generally exhaustingly happy. Life isn't always happy. It just feels fake.

Honestly, most CCM is awful. I think there are some artists doing very good things, but they are incredibly few, incredibly far between, and would likely not fall under some folks' definition of CCM. For example, I would consider Sufjan Stevens and Nickel Creek CCM. Those are really the only two artists I would have used as reference for this survey. Other than that, I don't really listen to it too much because the quality is often so drab.

I think overall most pop CCM is awful, there is just a disingenuous nature to the music as it feels "forced." Just because someone puts in lyrics about Jesus does not mean the music is good. When I listen to what I consider good secular music I hear passion, emotion, and creativity that I do not hear in pop CCM. With that said, I think contemporary worship CCM is amazing, such artists as Jesus Culture, Kim Walker, Bethel, Hillsong, United, Stefanny Frizzell, etc. are wonderful examples of musicians praising God and putting forth talented music. Their worship brings me closer to God and I absolutely love their music.

I think that the CCM that is used to reach the lost is getting a lot better ! Christians are putting out better and better quality music that goes better with the culture's quality of music. Overall I think there are not enough new artists out there getting recognized. I refuse to go to another Christian concert with the same lineup of bands as every concert for the last 10-15 years. (Audio Adrenaline, Newsboys, TobyMac, Disciple, Red, Family Force 5, and the usual) Lets give some new bands a chance, and hey lets start some new bands!!

hi! i have been collecting & enjoying Christian music/music by Christian artists for over 20 years, specifically alternative genres like electro-industrial, unblack metal, experimental/ambient, goth, alt-rock, psychadelic folk, etc. etc. i have a few hundred gigs of it -- and let me assure you, there is NO genre of music that has not been taken captive and set towards the magnification of Christ by at least one child of God at some point or another. i'll put my email in the next box - i am happy to share & talk with you more on the subject, as it is something i've given a great deal of thought over the last few decades, and there may be some way i can be of help to bless you :)

9. It dissent matter to me whether they make money or not. If they want to, go for it. 11. My father is a music producer. He went from secular to gospel and back again. We are still religious as family.

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As stated above, I'm more agnostic or possibly even atheist when it comes to beliefs, but I still think each avenue of music is worth exploring. I admire a lot of the core tenets of christianity, so naturally the music has some appeal. That said, it's hard to find a reason to listen to sub-par CCM bands when there are many CM groups out there who play music just as well and with no lyrical bias - The only few CCM bands I'd go for really are P.O.D (Which is tentative), and Skillet.

I am a worship musician and typically play 2-3 times per month in both worship service and outreach.

Christian music is not the same as music that is used in a worship service. Christian music can in many cases be used in a service, but so can hymns and chant and silence. Christian music is music with Christian themes. It is not an arm of the church. The Christian music I like does all the things in #2.

I think that Christians can be in secular bands but I also think that some purposefully are secular so that they can reach more people.

I am a Pastor, and I have studied music in the Church going back centuries. In general I do prefer the traditional worship, believing that the lyrics of such do a better job telling the full Gospel, as well I a just prefer it. This does not mean I am against CCM, I just am not the biggest fan of it, since I often find the lyrics less than great, simplistic, and often very repetitive (a common complaint against "traditional" worship). Though I believe it both are God-pleasing, it does depend on one'e preferences. I also have struggled with both sides when one immediately denies one or the other simply for whatever reason. Best to look for any and all ways to worship God that is both God-pleasing and strengthens and uplifts the faithful.

With respect to #9, I'm fine with the idea of Christian artists making money, but they should try to as much as possible not compromise their music for the sake of money, and they should be wise with how they spend it once it's gotten and such. Giving to the poor or using it to make the best art possible or etc. perhaps.

I have to say that I don't listen to CCM radio because of the worn out and same-old-same-old music playing. I'm picky about my Christian music and I normally listen to music that has Godly/biblical lyrics. Not too hymn sounding though for me. I guess I listen to lyrics that seem like "real" Christianity and not flowery lyrics.

Hey! I really liked this survey! If you get a chance check out my music page and kickstarter at Jed Bayes Music.

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I don't really like most "CCM" - it seems like most of the songs I have heard the few times I flipped to a CCM station were sort of ...empty? (I guess, I can't think of a better way to phrase my reaction to it). There are a number of bands and singers who wouldn't identify as CCM that have have really beautiful Christian songs. (e.g. - Six Pence None the Richer and Sufjan Stevens from above).

I play CCM in our church's worship band. I believe that CCM reaches people and moves them emotionally just as much as a sermon can. I believe that the artists are using their spiritual gifts to spread the word in a positive way, and should definitely be compensated for it.

i think that alot of the CCM stations just relpay the same songs over and over again. there should be more variety in my opinion

Any Christian making music is using there gifts to glorify God, secular or not, paid or not using their gifts is worship to God.

Prayermeetingpodcast.com is the website I run. Due to copyright legalities, I am forced to use only 90% of all worship songs ever written (which excludes CCM). But it turns out that CCM is not even necessary. I also follow the CCLI charts, and share the top movers in one of my latest podcasts: www.nickalexander.com.

In generality, Christian music at one time was considered the forefront of musical progression? What happened? Not only have we sacrificed rich theological truths that teach us about Christ and would support us during trials for simplistic self focusing 7-11 choruses (7 words repeated 11 times), our progression in pursuing musical excellence as a whole has seriously dwindled to a 4 chord sequence format, just like the world. We have so much to sing about, our songs and music should reflect the intensity and passion of knowing Christ and declaring His truth, or are we void of those things to begin with?

On Q 14 - You forgot to list Self-employed. Like Musicians:} On Q 10 - Problem is that these Crossover artists are WATERING DOWN their message about Jesus in the name of reaching more people; songs easily could be perceived as man-woman love. Like JARS OF CLAY selling 'Love Song for a Savior" to a dating service.

I think that to really capitalize on the effectiveness of CCM they need to make songs that are less generic. If your heart is in the right place when you are worshiping or just listening you will pay attention to the words. They need to make the soundtrack better. I have noticed more change in this as of late (within the last couple of months).

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I think music can be a great ministry tool to reach out to society, but if it is "diluted/mainstreamed" to make it more palatable for non believers artist should still live a life that demonstrated their faith. They should avoid the pitfalls that secular artist are regularly caught in. Living an life that demonstrates redemption and salvation.

CCM is a beast of an industry. I think that Christian artists need to make money to make music. The amount of money poured into their music does not return in higher quality music. So in some regards I consider it a bit of a bad investment. The music is generally bad in terms of composition. I typically find no inspiration from the actual melody of the song. It is the content of the lyrics that make me listen to CCM.

I think that CCM is generally cheesy or very watered-down. When I do listen to it, I like for it to be very Christ-focused and rooted in biblical truths. Most of the CCM on the radio feels empty to me, like it is afraid to take a stance on the gospel. I generally like to listen to modernized hymns (Rend Collective, Kings Kaleidoscope, etc.) because it feels like genuine worship. This isn't to say that others can't genuinely worship to other styles of music- it is just my preference.

I am a professional (ish) musician mostly in the Jazz and Punk arenas around Flint, MI. I play drums for my church, which has a worship service that would be considered "contemporary". I do not like playing the music because it severely lacks originality.

Hi! I found your survey to be great, about a topic close to my heart. However, question 5 struck me as kind of weird - how could any music incorporating the Holy gospel be anything but better than music that does not?

Most CCM I either don't listen to or don't care for. The reason for this is simple: many of the messages they spread are not things I believe in. I also question those that make a great deal of money off of music they say is dedicated to Christ. It is not that I think they are doing something willfully bad. However, if they are not conscious of the fact that they are making money off of Christ and the Gospels then I hope someone points it out to them soon.

Hello! Thank you for taking the time to do this research. It's something I've wondered about and am looking forward to reading about what you find. :)

Which of the following best describes your views about the condition of the CCM industry? There are far to many overly sexual sounds lyrics and other wise distasteful lyrics in some of the music. Motives of bands who produce such music need to be questioned.

I believe Christian rap (my preferred method of Christian music is just rap that is made by Christians and should be more popular because it seems out a positive message, rather than just the filthy songs that we don't notice anymore because we are so used to it

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Questions 3 and 5= Most Christian music is just a remix of older songs. Why can't there be more original songs?

I used to be a fan of the industry, now it just annoys me to a degree. I feel that it serves as a shelter for Christians and keeps them in their "safe" zone. At the end of the day, to each their own

Like I said above, the whole Christian music industry, IMO, is very far off-base. It actually makes my blood almost boil. That's why I am adamant about another means to promote Christian music, as I said above - Worship of Heaven.

i think CCM music quality is as good as the rest of the music industry hell in todays world even someone with a single PC can make a studio quality CD with a few tools. though i will say some of my favorite artists like Jars of clay and caedmons call. have kinda fell away of their roots to try adapt to the modern music and i kinda miss that old touch. in my opinion music should make you feel someting and if it doesnt it loses its point that goes for Christian and non christian music. i think CCM is doing just fine i think the real issue is the Christian movie industry which is severarly lacking. as they tend to be low budget or overly preachy (gods not dead). thats where we really need to come together and create something that can be powerful AND reach out to non christians and those who hurt because the last thing a person needs who is overly hurting and alone is a fanatic that throws the bible in their face. they just need love first.

Appendix 2: Artist Questionnaires I sent out questionnaires for CCM bands living and working in America. Here are the responses to my email

questionnaires:

Greg Spears (CrossTie) 1. Name

Greg Spears

2. Name & band/artist name

Greg (CrossTie)

3. Where do you currently reside?

Tennessee-USA

4. What is your age?

46

5. What genre of music do you write?

Christian

6. How long have you been a professional singer-songwriter?

20 years

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7. What style of music do you write? Do you consciously write for your target audience?

I mainly write Christian/Christian rock with the occasional country song thrown in there. I do write for my target

audience but not always. Most songs are influenced by my environment.

8. How big a part does collaboration play in your writing?

Lately, most of my songs are co-written with my son Paul. When given an opportunity, I love to collaborate with other

writers. I feel like it helps to strengthen the song.

9. Do you believe it is right for an artist to make money from CCM music?

Yes I do. Song writing and performing are talents and gifts from God we use to encourage others. Similar to one who

uses their talents to make pews or print hymnals, build churches, etc.

10. How do you feel Christian artists should market themselves whilst being true to Christ's teachings to deny

ourselves?

My take on this is to first seek the Lord in everything you do. Then we are to GO and make disciples. This can't be

accomplished if you and your music are hidden away, thus making marketing a necessity of this type of ministry.

11. Do you feel that CCM accurately reflects the entire spectrum of human experience and up's and down's of life?

Yes, I think so. People are connected to songs that address issues in their lives. This allows the song to administer

healing, inspire courage, strength, etc.

12. Do you feel there are any other issues in CCM currently?

No, not that I can think of.

13. Do you consider the opinion of the church when writing songs?

Yes, obviously our goal is to not offend or be a stumbling block while representing the truths in His Word.

14. Do you believe that CCM can be performance?

Yes, however not during or to permanently replace a church service. Festivals, youth events, concerts, etc. give the

opportunity for non believers to experience and hear about Jesus.

15. What are your views on Christian entertainment, do you believe in it?

Yes absolutely. I feel its important to have entertainment fitting of our calling and not to sound cliché but safe for the

whole family. If God has given you the talent or gift to entertain, you need to do it.

16. Do you feel you have creative freedom within CCM or do you feel it is a constraining industry? Both in terms of

lyrics and musical style

I do feel free to write what is on my heart or going on in my world at that time.

17. Do you see your music as a gift to influence the church or do you desire to reflect the church?

Its a little of both. Some songs are geared toward encouraging believers while some are geared more toward drawing

unbelievers to know Jesus.

18. Here's your sounding board: Do you have any advice about how to make a musical career as a CCM artist?!

As I mentioned before, "Seek Ye First The Kingdom of God..." Bathe every step you take with prayer and always be

careful not to follow counterfeits. It takes a lot of work for any craft and music is no different. There are no shortcuts.

19. Let me know if you'd like your answers to be confidential by clicking this box:

N/A

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Rob Vischer 1. Name & band/artist name

Rob Vischer

2. Where do you currently reside?

Nashville, tn

3. What is your age?

32

5. What genre of music do you write?

Worship, ccm, pop, rock, rap, all types

6. How long have you been a professional singer-songwriter?

6 months in that I'm doing it with no side jobs.

7. What style of music do you write? Do you consciously write for your target audience?

All types. Yes.

8. How big a part does collaboration play in your writing?

When I cowrite, there's lots of collaboration. When I don't, I mainly collaborate with producers and instrumentalists to

flesh it out.

9. Do you believe it is right for an artist to make money from CCM music?

Yes. Money should not be the overall motive or love, but it's good to make money.

10. How do you feel Christian artists should market themselves whilst being true to Christ's teachings to deny

ourselves?

They should market themselves with authenticity.

11. Do you feel that CCM accurately reflects the entire spectrum of human experience and up's and down's of life?

It can. Every song can not accomplish this.

12. Do you feel there are any other issues in CCM currently?

Yeah. To market it as a genre is weird since there are many genres within it. It's not a genre. Pretty soon it's going to

mainly be worship music.

13. Do you consider the opinion of the church when writing songs?

Yes. If they're my target audience.

14. Do you believe that CCM can be performance?

Yes. Performing has been turned into a dirty word in some parts of the church. I simply look at it as being really excellent

in what you do.

15. What are your views on Christian entertainment, do you believe in it?

I don't believe that it can change the world. One song can change the world is a crazy idea. We can only change the

world if we live by the Spirit and forsake the desires of the flesh.

16. Do you feel you have creative freedom within CCM or do you feel it is a constraining industry? Both in terms of

lyrics and musical style

Yes. I write what I want. If people listen, that's fantastic. If radio picks it up, that's fun. If not, I'll keep writing.

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17. Do you see your music as a gift to influence the church or do you desire to reflect the church?

Both and. There'll always be a little bit of both. I desire to give truth to the church. I have no control over whether it's

influential or reflective.

18. Here's your sounding board: Do you have any advice about how to make a musical career as a CCM artist?!

Broad question. I'll boil it down to what I'd tell anyone in any industry. Follow Christ closely. Your aim, your dream, your

destiny is not a vocation. It's Jesus. Search for Him like buried treasure and seek His kingdom first, and He'll lead you into

everything else.

19. Let me know if you'd like your answers to be confidential by clicking this box:

N/A

Dennis Jernigan 1. Name

Dennis Jernigan

2. Name & band/artist name

Dennis Jernigan

3. Where do you currently reside?

Muskogee, Oklahoma, USA

4. What is your age?

55

5. What genre of music do you write?

Praise and Worship

6. How long have you been a professional singer-songwriter?

I have been writing and ministering with my music since 1981...33 years or so!

7. What style of music do you write? Do you consciously write for your target audience?

I write mainly in the genre of praise and worship but also write songs of ministry for those trapped in any kind of

bondage, whether emotional, spiritual, or otherwise. Having come out of homosexuality and now walking as a

heterosexual by virtue of becoming a new creation in Christ, it has been my heart's cry to thank God for all He has done

for me and to lead as many others as possible to know the same freedom I have come to know.

8. How big a part does collaboration play in your writing?

At this point, I actually write all of my own music...and actually do not even consider myself a song writer, lol, but rather

a song receiver. My goal is to walk relationally with Christ and write down whatever I need to say to Him or whatever I

hear Him say to me.

9. Do you believe it is right for an artist to make money from CCM music?

I believe it is not only right but I believe it is ordained of God. Matthew 10:10 says "...the worker is worthy of his

support." Those who write for the Kingdom of God must still go through the labor - the blood, sweat, and tears -

required to make that song viable. Intellectual property is still property and provides a service to the body of Christ. God

has certainly provided for me through royalties and sales these past 33 years.

10. How do you feel Christian artists should market themselves whilst being true to Christ's teachings to deny

ourselves?

If we believe God is Who He says He is and we have an understanding of who He says we are, then we live to make

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Christ known in ALL our ways. We should point to Jesus regardless of how much of a celebrity status we walk in. It is

NEVER about us and ALWAYS about Him.

"Trust in the LORD with all your heart

And do not lean on your own understanding.

In all your ways acknowledge Him,

And He will make your paths straight."

Proverbs 3:5-6 NASB

11. Do you feel that CCM accurately reflects the entire spectrum of human experience and up's and down's of life?

I believe that of all the music on earth that CCM comes the closest.

12. Do you feel there are any other issues in CCM currently?

As always, I believe the issue is always making Christ known rather than seeking to make a name for ourselves. When

worship becomes and industry based solely on the bottom line rather than a relationship with Christ, we tend to have

problems.

13. Do you consider the opinion of the church when writing songs?

I always consider the wisdom of godly men and women and want my songs to be spiritually and doctrinally sound. I

consider the Word of God and the ‘Holy Spirit’ as well as wise men and women I am in relationship with to be my main

sources of wisdom when faced with theological issues.

14. Do you believe that CCM can be performance?

In a word, yes. When we perform for the approval of others or to attain God's love, we have failed. True performance is

born out of the reality that God loves us no matter what, therefore, I perform BECAUSE He loves me rather than SO He

will love me.

15. What are your views on Christian entertainment, do you believe in it?

I believe the most uplifting entertainment IS Christian in nature. Whatever we put in our minds is what will come out.

When the wisdom of man seeks to entertain, it seeks gratification while Christian entertainment seeks to edify and build

up. Nothing wrong with that!

16. Do you feel you have creative freedom within CCM or do you feel it is a constraining industry? Both in terms of

lyrics and musical style

I have never been constrained by the industry. The very existence of my ministry and the fact that the church around

the world sings my music is testament to that. Because of my testimony, the CCM world told me they did not know how

to market me...so I felt free from the onset of my public ministry to just BE who God says I am. He has gotten my music

literally around the world without a single radio hit and without the mass marketing of the CCM world. God is good.

17. Do you see your music as a gift to influence the church or do you desire to reflect the church?

I want it to accomplish both. The freedom I have found in Christ is reflected in my music and at the same time challenges

the church to be a place of refuge for those who struggle with ANY sin.

18. Here's your sounding board: Do you have any advice about how to make a musical career as a CCM artist?!

Seek Jesus and not a ministry. It is when we seek Jesus that ministry begins to pour out of our lives and people, I believe,

will seek US out. That is certainly what has happened for and with me.

19. Let me know if you'd like your answers to be confidential by clicking this box:

N/A

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Andrew Greer 1. Name

Andrew Greer

2. Name & band/artist name

Andrew Greer

3. Where do you currently reside?

Nashville, TN

4. What is your age?

30

5. What genre of music do you write?

Folk-Gospel-Americana

6. How long have you been a professional singer-songwriter?

Nearly five years.

7. What style of music do you write? Do you consciously write for your target audience?

I write for a variety of folk, Americana and gospel genres. I do tend to write thinking of who the audience is that I am

intending, or may be intended, for each song - depending on if I am writing for an artist, myself, a specific project, etc.

8. How big a part does collaboration play in your writing?

A ton! I love to co-write and find I am writing some of my better songs as a cowriter. There are times when I am inspired

to write, and it comes easily and naturally on my own. But being in another room with a fellow creative can really create

some musical sparks!

9. Do you believe it is right for an artist to make money from CCM music?

Do I believe it is OK for a pastor to have an income? There is my answer.

10. How do you feel Christian artists should market themselves whilst being true to Christ's teachings to deny

ourselves?

To be able to do what I love, and what I think and have experienced as my giftings (our gifts come from God), then a

certain amount of business savvy must be present. It's practical. I love music. I love how the medium of music is so

universally accepted and desired, and how it supernaturally connects a room full of people from the very first note. I

serve God with my entire life. He is the big picture and in the details. And so I want to serve my audience well night after

night, as a professional, which includes good marketing and targeting your audience, trusting God is always in the

details.

11. Do you feel that CCM accurately reflects the entire spectrum of human experience and up's and down's of life?

CCM music at times entails parameters that do not allow the music, especially lyrically speaking, to go below the

surface. That's a tragedy. Because music has a unique way of articulating the human experience. And in our human

experiences are where we discover God.

12. Do you feel there are any other issues in CCM currently?

Is the CCM industry made up of humans? Then of course we have issue. Though I'd rather not spend time mulling over

them. :)

13. Do you consider the opinion of the church when writing songs?

I consider the opinion of God through my life experiences, observing his move in the experiences of others and his

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movement through scripture as I read it. The opinion of the church? That's tough. I think "church" would have to be

more explicitly defined.

14. Do you believe that CCM can be performance?

Absolutely. Why not? All to the glory of God.

15. What are your views on Christian entertainment, do you believe in it?

See previous answer.

16. Do you feel you have creative freedom within CCM or do you feel it is a constraining industry? Both in terms of

lyrics and musical style

It can be constraining. Working within the parameters of any genre can have its constraints, but I don't believe CCM-

imposed constraints are always healthy for creative types or for the church as an audience.

17. Do you see your music as a gift to influence the church or do you desire to reflect the church?

I hope to reflect Christ. Always.

18. Here's your sounding board: Do you have any advice about how to make a musical career as a CCM artist?!

No explicit CCM advice. But in anything that is entrepreneurial, get ready to work. It's just part of generating doing what

you love to do.

19. Let me know if you'd like your answers to be confidential by clicking this box

N/A

Tag Cloud Question 7 for responses to the question “What style of music do you write? Do you consciously write for your target

audience?”

Evan Roberts – CCM in the United States of America

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Tag cloud for responses to Question 8: “How big a part does collaboration play in your writing?”

Tag cloud for responses to Question 9: “Do you believe it is right for an artist to make money from CCM music?”

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Tag cloud for responses to Question 10: “How do you feel Christian artists should market themselves whilst being true to

Christ's teachings to deny ourselves?”

Tag cloud for responses to Question 11: “Do you feel that CCM accurately reflects the entire spectrum of human

experience and up's and down's of life?”

Evan Roberts – CCM in the United States of America

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Tag cloud for responses to Question 12: “Do you feel there are any other issues in CCM currently?”

Tag cloud for responses to Question 13: “Do you consider the opinion of the church when writing songs?”

Evan Roberts – CCM in the United States of America

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Tag cloud for responses to Question 14: “Do you believe that CCM can be performance?”

Tag cloud for responses to Question 15: “What are your views on Christian entertainment, do you believe in it?”

Evan Roberts – CCM in the United States of America

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Tag cloud for responses to Question 16: “Do you feel you have creative freedom within CCM or do you feel it is a

constraining industry? Both in terms of lyrics and musical style”

Tag cloud for responses to Question 17: “Do you see your music as a gift to influence the church or do you desire to

reflect the church?”

Tag cloud for responses to Question 18: “Here's your sounding board: Do you have any advice about how to make a

musical career as a CCM artist?!”

Tag cloud for responses to Question 19: “Let me know if you'd like your answers to be confidential by clicking this box”

Appendix 4 – Song themes, top 10 songs March 2013 – March 2014 Title Artist Theme

Every Good Thing The Afters Recognising God is

at the centre of

‘Every good thing’

God's Great Dance Floor Martin Smith Celebration

He Is With Us Love & The Outcome Trust in God/hope

Help Me Find It Sidewalk Prophets Trust in God/hope

Hurricane Natalie Grant Trust in God/hope

Live With Abandon newsboys Making Jesus the

priority

Lord I Need You Matt Maher Need for God

Love Take Me Over Steven Curtis Chapman God to consume

everything in his life

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My God Jeremy Camp Trust in God/hope

Overcomer Mandisa Confidence/Hope

Speak Life tobyMac Measured speech

The Only Name (Yours Will Be) Big Daddy Weave Making Jesus the

priority

We Won't Be Shaken Building 429 Making Jesus the

priority

Whom Shall I Fear (God Of Angel Armies) Chris Tomlin Trust in God/hope

Words Hawk Nelson Featuring Bart

Millard

Measured speech

10,000 Reasons (Bless The Lord) Matt Redman Praise

All You've Ever Wanted Casting Crowns Making Jesus life’s

priority/Re-

commitment?

Alone Yet Not Alone Joni Eareckson Tada Trust in God/hope

Beautiful Day Jamie Grace Trust in God/hope

Carry Me Josh Wilson Cry for help/Trust

Forever Kari Jobe Calvary &

ressurection

Hello, My Name Is Matthew West Trust in

God/Hope/Confidenc

e

Help Me Find It Sidewalk Prophets Trust in God/hope

I Am Crowder Trust in God/hope

Just Say Jesus 7eventh Time Down Making Jesus the

priority/trust/Hope

Keep Making Me Sidewalk Prophets Making Jesus the

priority

Kings & Queens Audio Adrenaline Showing charity

Light Of Christmas Owl City Featuring tobyMac Christmas/seasonal

Love Alone Is Worth The Fight Switchfoot The importance of

Love

Need You Now (How Many Times) Plumb Cry for help/Trust

Oceans (Where Feet May Fail) Hillsongs Faith/Trust in God

One Thing Remains Passion Featuring Kristian Stanfill Hope/Trust in God

Redeemed Big Daddy Weave Hope/Trust in

God/Redemption

Shake MercyMe Celebration

Steal My Show tobyMac Glory to God

Strangely Dim Francesca Battistelli Hope/Trust in God

This Is Amazing Grace Phil Wickham Redemption

Thrive Casting Crowns Making Jesus life’s

priority

What A Glorious Night Sidewalk Prophets Christmas/Seasonal

Worn Tenth Avenue North Cry for help/Trust

Write Your Story Francesca Battistelli Plea for God’s

direction

You Are Colton Dixon Hope/Trust in God

You Are I Am MercyMe Hope/Trust in God

Your Love Never Fails newsboys Hope/Trust in God

Appendix 5 – Chart songwriters tally March 2013 – March 2014 Songwriters Tally

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Ben Glover 5

Chris Tomlin 2

Chris Rademaker 1

Ben McDonald 4

Cindy Morgan 1

Jonathan White 2

Christy Nockels 1

Steven Curtis

Chapman?

1

Andy Dodd 1

Jamie Moore 1

Benji Cowart 2

Casey Brown 2

Jonathan Steingard 1

Jonas Myrin 1

Bernie Herms 1

Chris Stevens 3

Brian Johnson 2

Matthew West 2

David Crowder 1

Cliff Williams 1

Chuck Butler 1

Adam Young 1

John Foreman 1

Christa Wells 1

Joel Houston 1

Christa Black Gifford 2

Bart Millard 2

Brandon Heath 1

Francesca Battistelli 2

Jeremy Riddle 2

Mark Hall 2

Jason Ingram 4

Colton Dixon 1

Barry Graul 1

Anthony Skinner 1

David Garcia 4

Martin Smith 1

Jodi King 1

David Frey 4

Matt Bronleewe 1

Joshua Silverberg 2

Daniel Carson 2

Jeremy Camp 1

Chris Stevens 3

Ryan Stevenson 1

Jason Roy 1

Ed Cash 2

Matthew Hammitt 1

Matt Redman 1

Mark Hall 2

Jamie Grace Harper 1

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Josh Wilson 1

Christa Black Gifford 2

Ian Eskelin 1

Joel Parisien 1

Matt Thiessen 1

Luke Sheets 1

Matt Crocker 1

Brian Johnson 2

Mike Weaver 1

Ben Glover 5

Mia Fieldes 1

Josh Farro 1

Tim Rosnau 1

Casey Brown 2

Jeff Owen 1

Jared Martin 1

Bart Millard 2

Chris McClarney 1

Joshua Havens 1

Nick Herbert 1

Seth Mosley 4

Jason Ingram 4

Natalie Grant 1

Thomas John Williams 2

Jesse Reeves 1

Toby McKeehan 4

Jonathan Smith 2

Scott Cash 1

Seth Mosley 4

Morgan Nichols 1

Gabriel Wilson 1

Mikey Howard 1

Sam Mizell 1

Juan Otero 1

Toby McKeehan 4

Tiffany Arbuckle Lee 1

Salomon Ligthelm 1

Jeremy Riddle 2

Phil Wickham 1

Roy 1

Mike Donehey 1

Francesca Battistelli 2

Mike Busbee 1

Dan Muckala 1

Matt Fuqua 1

Kristian Stanfill 1

Tim Rosnau 1

Jenn Johnson 1

Matt Maher 1

Jim Bryson 1

Mike Scheuchzer 1

Joel Taylor 1

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Solomon Olds 1

Kari Jobe 1

Nathan Cochran 1

Robby Shaffer 1

Rhyan Shirley 1

Bruce Broughton 1

Dennis Spiegel 1

No. Writers 109

Appendix 6 – Artists lyrics

Switchfoot

Meant to Live

Fumbling his confidence

And wondering why the world has passed him by

Hoping that he's bent for more than arguments

And failed attempts to fly, fly

We were meant to live for so much more

Have we lost ourselves?

Somewhere we live inside

Somewhere we live inside

We were meant to live for so much more

Have we lost ourselves?

Somewhere we live inside

Dreaming about Providence

And whether mice or men have second tries

Maybe we've been livin with our eyes half open

Maybe we're bent and broken, broken

We want more than this world's got to offer

We want more than this world's got to offer

We want more than the wars of our fathers

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And everything inside screams for second life, yeah

We were meant to live for so much more

Have we lost ourselves?

We were meant to live for so much more

Have we lost ourselves?

We were meant to live for so much more

Have we lost ourselves?

We were meant to live

We were meant to live

Your Love is the Song

Yeah

I hear you breathing in

Another day begins

The stars are falling out

My dreams are fading now, fading out

I've been keeping my eyes wide open

I've been keeping my eyes wide open

Your love is a symphony

All around me

Running through me

Your love is a melody

Underneath me

Running to me

Oh, your love is a song

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The dawn is fire bright

Against the city lights

The clouds are glowing now

The moon is blacking out, is blacking out

So I've been keeping my mind wide open

I've been keeping my mind wide open, yeah

Your love is a symphony

All around me

Running through me

Your love is a melody

Underneath me

Running to me

Oh, your love is a song

Your love is a song

Oh, your love is a song

Your love is strong

With my eyes wide open

I've got my eyes wide open

I've been keeping my hopes unbroken, yeah

Your love is a symphony

All around me

Running through me

Your love is a melody

Underneath me

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Running to me

Your love is a song

Yeah, yeah

Your love is my remedy

Oh your love is a song

Jamie Grace

Beautiful Day

Oh Oh

Wake up and smile cause it's been a while

It's been like a whole day since I stopped

so you could hold me

This child awaits strong in the faith

Lord You are the refuge that I can't wait to get to

Cause I can't let a day go, can't let a day go by

Without thanking You for the joy that You bring to my life

And oh there's something 'bout the way

Your sun shines on my face

It's a love so true I can never get enough of You

This feeling can't be wrong I'm about to get my worship on

Take me away

It's a beautiful day,

It's a beautiful day

When trouble seems to rain on my dreams

It's not a big, not a big deal

Let it wash all the bugs off my windshield

Cause You're showing me in You I'm free

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And You're still the refuge that I've just got to get to

So I won't let a day won't let a day go by

So put the drop-top down turn it up I'm ready to fly!

And oh there's something 'bout the way

your sun shines on my face

It's a love so true, I can never get enough of you

This feeling can't be wrong!

I'm about to get my worship on

Take me away!

It's a beautiful day.

It's a beautiful day.

I've got no need to worry

I've got no room for doubt

No matter what's coming at me, you'll always be the beautiful I sing about

There ain't no limitations to Your amazing grace!

Your amazing grace

And there's something 'bout the way

Your love shines on my face...

oh no I just could never get enough of You

This feeling can't be wrong,

I'm about get my worship on!

I'm gonna sing a brand new song!

Yeah, I'm about to get my worship on

take me away on this beautiful day

Hold Me

I love, I love, I love, I love the way you hold me

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I love, I love, I love, I love the way you hold me

I love, I love, I love, I love the way you hold me

I love, I love, I love, I love the way you, the way you

I've had a long day, I just wanna relax

Don't have time for my friends, no time to chit chat

Problems at my job, wonderin' what to do

I know I should be working but I'm thinking of you and

Just when I feel this crazy world is gonna bring me down

That's when your smile comes around

Oh, I love the way you hold me, by my side you'll always be

You take each and every day, make it special in some way

I love the way you hold me, in your arms I'll always be

You take each and every day, make it special in some way

I love you more than the words in my brain can express

I can't imagine even loving you less

Lord, I love the way you hold me

Whoa, oh, I love the way you hold me

Whoa, oh

Well ya, took my day and you flipped it around

Calmed the tidal wave and put my feet on the ground

Forever in my heart, always on my mind

It's crazy how I think about you all of the time

And just when I think I'm 'bout to figure you out

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You make me wanna sing and shout

I love the way you hold me, by my side you'll always be

You take each and every day, make it special in some way

I love the way you hold me, in your arms I'll always be

You take each and every day, make it special in some way

I love you more than the words in my brain can express

I can't imagine even loving you less

Lord, I love the way you hold me

Whoa, oh, I love the way you hold me

Whoa, oh

I'm so grateful and thankful for all you've done

Wish I could tell you in a short story or poem

But all I have is my voice and this guitar

And you have my heart

Oh, I love the way you hold me, by my side you'll always be

You take each and every day, make it special in some way

I love the way you hold me, in your arms I'll always be

You take each and every day, every day, every

I love the way you hold me, by my side you'll always be

You take each and every day oh-so-special

I love the way you hold me, in your arms I'll always be

You take each and every day, make it special in some way

I love you more than the words in my brain can express

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I can't imagine even loving you less

Lord, I love the way you hold me

Whoa, oh, I love the way you hold me

Whoa, oh

Oh, I love

I love, I love, I love, I love the way you hold me

I love, I love, I love, I love the way you hold me

I love, I love, I love, I love the way you hold me, hold me, hold me

Matt Redman

Heart of Worship

When the music fades

and all has slipped away

and I simply come.

Longing just to be

something that's of worth

that will bless Your heart.

I'll bring You more than a song,

for a song in itself

is not what You have required.

You search much deeper within,

through the way things appear,

Your looking into my heart.

I'm coming back to the heart of worship

and its all about You, its all about You, Jesus.

I'm sorry, Lord, for the thing I've made it

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when its all about You, its all about You, Jesus.

King of endless worth,

no one could express

how much you deserve.

Though I'm weak and poor,

all I have is Yours,

every single breath!

I'll bring You more than a song,

for a song in itself

is not what You have required.

You search much deeper within,

through the way things appear,

Your looking into my heart.

I'm coming back to the heart of worship

and its all about You, its all about You, Jesus.

I'm sorry, Lord, for the thing I've made it

when its all about You, its all about You, Jesus.

P.O.D

Let the Music do the Talking

When the beat starts pumping

That's it --- Yeah

The hitman's on the mic getting lyrically sick

My boys with the tools to groove

To make you want to move

The P.O.D is rock'n

And we have nothing to prove

So with the mic in my hand

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Let me state this now

You can get with this

Ain't no way no how

Forget your fingers homeboy

You'll do the walking

No need for words

We let the music do the talking

God made me

And I'm funky

We're set free

Close your eyes and let your heart see

God made me

It's the P.O.D. and we're funky

We're set free

For all eternity

Now it's obvious to see that we're dope

We're dope

Confusing the mind with this flow you can't cope

Cope

What you gonna do when you're faced by my crew

With the game that is true there's no hope

Hope

Why do you try to front,

You know that my God is so hard

Taking out you chumps

Is just a walk in the park

Keep your lips shut

With all your hawking and squawking

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No need for words

We let the music do the talking

God made me

And I'm funky

We're set free

Close your eyes and let your heart see

God made me

It's the P.O.D. and we're funky

We're set free

For all eternity

God made me

And I'm funky

We're set free

Close your eyes and let your heart see

God made me

It's the P.O.D. and we're funky

We're set free

For all eternity

Coming Back

He's coming back

He's coming back for me and you

He's coming back for me and you

He's coming back for me and you

It's the low down

The show down

Brother, ready to throw down

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No need for us to go down

The truth is what we know how

That we have life through my Lord, Jesus Christ

No one can love you more

Than to do the things that he did

So give him your pass

So that he can start to mold ya

Full-fledged dedicated

Hardcore Christian soldier

Spiritual war, it's a spiritual bout

And we're the first ones in P.O.D.

And we're the last ones out

He's coming back

He's coming back for me and you