Modern Christian music
I feel conflicted writing this, because it is an indictment of a lot of the music that people around me listened to growing up. I will do my best to present an honest picture of the good and the bad. However, to put it bluntly - Christian music must improve. A brief survey of Christian writers paints a picture of music that is emotionally shallow,¹ missing the authentic genre of “lament”,² uncreative and isolationist,³ and racially segregated.⁴ This racial segregation is so complete⁵ that I will have to regularly qualify my observations and apply them to only gospel music (referring to the African American gospel movement) or only CCM (referring to Contemporary Christian music, and not just “praise and worship” music). I will be mostly commenting on the songs I’m used to, CCM, although occasionally I will refer to gospel music (an incredibly important movement for music history because of the tradition of musical innovation that is still happening there.) Although I am leaving out other musical traditions due to lack of knowledge, I’m sure that some of the following observations will apply to them, especially if there is a attempt to assimilate or combine them with western styles. This is also a very complex picture (as I’ve come to realise), so I expect my views to change further over time.
The woes of Christian music
The following is my observations of the pitfalls of Christian music. Thanks to Alvin Johnson with his nine part video series⁶ I have a bit of recent historical context for these observations and some more breadth of listening. To avoid being too negative here, alongside every deficiency in Christian music I will name one counter-example - one song that swims against the tide.
Lack of musical interest/innovation (counter-example: Backwards by Kings Kaleidoscope). This category applies to CCM rather than gospel music. Gospel music has both embraced innovation from secular music, and driven innovation in secular music.⁷ Christian contemporary music was also nuanced and interesting at its inception during the “Jesus Music” days in 1970. However, by 1990, (in my opinion), innovation had slowed considerably, and some of the cheapest and most saccharine sounds of the 80s had stuck like gum and have still never quite been scraped off. Regardless of musical taste, it seems clear that Twila Paris’ 1985 songwriting style is still propagated in our worship songs in 2024. Innovative new artists came to the world stage in the 90s that could have inspired Christian non-worship artists harmonically and stylistically: Tupac (1991), Radiohead (1992), Bjork (1993), Nas (1994), Erykah Badu (1997) - but no such inspiration was evident. Ironically CCM songs referencing the “new song” we are to sing to God are not new in any meaningful sense. It could be argued that drawing inspiration from the secular world is not original either. However, creativity does not happen in a vacuum, and it often consists in combining things that have not been harmonised before, rather than in creation from nothing. This musical experimentation could have happened in the 90s or early 2000s but, generally speaking, it didn’t. CCM has included creative work but many of this work lacked quality and compromised in some of the following categories.
Lack of connection to lived experience (counter-example: The Great American Novel by Larry Norman). Before we start, to clarify - I’ve made a separate category below which is related to this one: lack of connection to emotion. What I mean by lived experience is a connection to the broader world which of course includes both Christians and a diversity of other people, as well as world issues which can be connected to biblical genres of lament and prophecy (conceptually linked to “protest” in today’s language). Larry Norman, Barry Mcguire, and later Steve Taylor applied their skill in writing to the political issues of their time, highlighting corruption, the military industrial complex, surveillance, and other social issues to raise awareness and protest against these happening. Kris Kistofferson and (for a while) Bob Dylan sung songs about meaning with a Christian backdrop, which requires a subtlety and artistry not often demonstrated in CCM. Otherwise, CCM was often characterised by a lack of engagement with, or even self-alienation from, the world outside the Christian bubble. This is not just a musical phenomenon but relates to recent Christian culture more broadly.
Lack of connection to the emotions (counter example: Feather by Page France). This may be a very subjective category, so it’s worth noting again that others have experienced a lack of emotional resonance with Christian music as well. I will also list more counter-examples to illustrate how I personally think these emotional dimensions can be stretched. There are three particular emotions which are worth highlighting: grief, awe and joy.
It is often expressed these days that Christian music lacks “lament” - and these discussions usually reference the Psalms, the book of Job, and the book of Lamentations, among others. These are all in the Old Testament, but we can act as if Jesus’ resurrection negates the need to “weep with those who weep.”⁸ We still experience thorns and thistles, work only achieved by sweat, and a world of relational divides. A song that helps me feel grief is “Fall Away” by Jackie-Hill Perry.
Awe or a sense of the “numinous” is something that is very hard to find in CCM, since its origins started from a hippie movement that (for all its strengths) may have been too loose to encapsulate awe in the presence of God, regularly referring to Him as a friend but rarely (if ever) expressing in their musical choices God’s “otherness” and transcendence. This is consistent with the church as a whole (see “God in the Wasteland” by David Wells). A song that helps me feel awe is “O Sacred Convivium” by Messian.
Finally, although a lot of CCM presents as quite joyful, I wonder sometimes whether or not this is a deeply rooted, cosmic rejoicing; that we know the God who created us, that he loves us, and that we are invited to his wedding feast, and are his spouse, his children, his brothers and sisters. Joy, and grief and awe may be absent even if we add the typical musical choices that apparently should lead us to feel any of these emotions. A song that helps me feel joy is “Hail to the Lord’s Anointed” by The Welcome Wagon.
Shallowness of lyrics (counter-example: Eustace Scrubb by Sarah Sparks). For a lot of CCM, the focus is on aligning the lyrics with biblical theology. This means that a lot of lyrics are helpfully oriented to strong theological frameworks, if not always poetically inspiring. A lot of ink has also been spilled on improving the lyrical quality of CCM, particularly in megachurches like Hillsong. I think Hillsong has produced better lyrics in the 2010s especially after hiring Brooke Fraser (now Brook Ligertwood). The main point of including this category in a sweeping criticism of Christian music is that I personally haven’t found as many theologically rich gospel songs so far. There is at least a perception of a theological slant away from the concept of personal responsibility for sin in many African American churches, although it certainly isn’t ubiquitous.⁹ Forceful competing race-based theologies also target these churches.¹⁰ Possibly as a result, I listen to Tye Tribbet and Kirk Franklin who are musically worlds ahead of almost all CCM artists, but struggle to find theology there which even recognises the fall and the introduction of sin into human life. As a result, the general positivity that radiates from the music and lyrics never mounts a challenge going beyond that of a motivational speaker or self help guru to “embrace the day” and “live your best life”. This is particularly frustrating because of the sometimes extreme musical depth on display.
Why we have these woes
At this level of analysis I can only speculate on the root causes of the above problems, but I’m confident that the causal factors are tangled and interrelated! Here is a visual mapping showing how they might interrelate:
Shallow lyrics and also a lack of connection to lived experience can be explained by a market-oriented approach to the production of Christian music. This results in generalised themes that appeal to a wide audience, but lack the nuance and richness that can come from connecting lyrics to earthy realities. To appeal to the largest possible market, writers can discard any mention of sin. Universalism is an example of a theological position which removes any need to define or discuss sin. Given that sin is the starting point of the Christian story, the removal of sin releases Christian music from having to say anything divisive or even distinctive. Sin is a primary point of friction, the acknowledgement of which can lead to rich discussion, introspection, and communal reflection on our position before God. Understanding sin can lead to real joy - whoever has been forgiven much, loves much.¹¹ But this is discarded because it is difficult to digest. Furthermore, once such an evisceration of the biblical story has taken place, any primarily profit-oriented church or label has great flexibility to write whatever lyrics are most palatable according to market research. This will most likely involve universal themes and shallow lyrics. More subtly, this principle can be applied even to lyrics that still align with biblical theology. If writers wish to appeal to those who believe in the biblical story (including sin), they can include only those themes and references that will be well received across many church denominations. The final and most subtle variety of this generalising profit strategy refrains from applying biblical ideas to the real world. This method avoids commenting on social issues, showing any understanding of a non-Christian’s existential position, or even engaging in a “slice of life” vignette without resorting to vague clichés. The strategy can be explained like this: every time one makes a comment with political implications, one is alienating the other half of an undoubtedly polarised audience. It is also wise to expect very little of one’s audience in terms of capacity for imaginative empathy, since many people may lose interest if the song is not about them. In its various forms, profitable generality may be the key contributing factor to the lack of connection to lived experience, and to the real world, in Christian music.
The belief that we should always be happy leads to an artificial environment, and stifles Christian music. Looking at the “Hillsong” church franchise can shed some light on this. As a note of caution against overly enthusiastic analyses, good can come incidentally alongside toxic church elements due to God’s grace (as argued in the widely absorbed “The Rise and Fall of Mars Hill” podcast series). So churches like Hillsong should not be rejected wholesale. However, the recent scandals at the top of the organisation should lead us to question how many aspects of its organisational life were artificial, and what effects this might have on the music it creates and perpetuates. Geoff Bullock, who drove songwriting in Hillsong’s early days, has detailed in a recent interview the emotional tumult and cognitive dissonance he experienced in the environment of early Hillsong. His internal conflict was between a felt expectation to be charismatic and energised, and a naturally reserved personality. Moving beyond these individual examples of artifice (whether created or received) the mode of worship in Pentecostal churches in general can be artificial - for example, the raising of hands. This is done in the context of outwardly elated worship, and signifies surrender and openness to God. Whatever raised hands has come to mean however, the emotional resonance of this gesture has traditionally been diametrically opposed to celebration and joy. In the bible people raised their hands to God in times of desperate need - lament, tragedy, and loss¹². It’s true that habits can become norms regardless of the starting point, but a tradition separated from its original meaning is still inherently artificial. More broadly still, in a church with powerful currents of prosperity theology (like Hillsong), the dangers to a flourishing emotional experience of the Christian life are significant. If you are not experiencing wealth and physical wellbeing, the absence of these can become associated with a lack of faith on your part - but it is possible that no amount of self flagellation will change your outward circumstances. The biblically unsupportable assumptions made by prosperity theology¹⁴ conflict with reality as experience, leading to cognitive dissonance. Cognitive dissonance can lead to stress and unhappiness,¹³ which in this case can lead to more cognitive dissonance! This internal conflict can also be associated with a lack of faith! The tragic irony is that while we are called to “Rejoice in the Lord always” prosperity theology takes the faith we are meant to rejoice in and makes it the cause of internal conflict. In contrast, the reality of the Christian life is that while our blessing may not be as tangible on earth, we can participate in the existential fulfilment of a restored relationship with God, and the family of God’s people. This joy is rooted in these realities, and it will remain (however dimly) during times of grief or frustration of legitimate human desires. However, joy will not remove negative experiences. If songs are written in this environment, they must ignore negative emotion. It’s true that in a situation where artifice and cognitive dissonance is both corporate and personal, a songwriter might paradoxically experience that “peace that surpasses all understanding”¹⁶ and thrive emotionally in his or her Christian life. Alternatively, as was the case with Geoff Bullock, God might use these negative experiences to create a “calling” away from such an artificial environment. In addition to its inherent malaise, prosperity theology leads to a blindness to suffering, producing songs that are emotionally one dimensional and alien to the human condition.
At this point we must make a distinction between worship music and other forms of contemporary Christian music. Worship music must have a unique type of innovation because of the limitations inherent to its setting (churches). Criticisms directed toward the musical depth of worship music should therefore be gentler and more understanding of its purpose. In the last ten to fifteen years, there has been some movement away from the aforementioned woes and towards a healthier expression of faith in worship music. The main corrective that was applied was to use lyrics that dipped more deeply into the Bible’s resources for describing and praising God, and situating us in relation to him. Musically, songs are leaner and less sentimental. The chords are still basic, but there are some rightly often-discussed principles that apply to worship music (they should be easily to sing and play). The extent to which musicians should drag church members towards musical forms that better encapsulate God’s transcendence (rather than his immanence in Christ) surpasses the level of nuance that I’m applying here. Music in churches is a way of moving listeners to be inhabited by the lyrics. This is consistent with a long-standing prioritisation of the text over the musical content - not unique to Christian music - going back to Plato and Aristotle. A view they shared was that certain types of music encouraged certain types of habits and eventually virtues, which gave music an important moral dimension. Music was, for lack of a better word, of instrumental importance and not an end in itself.¹⁷ It is also important not to brush over the innovation required to write songs in the context of a limited palette of chordal, melodic, and lyrical choices - all constrained by the abilities and emotional resonances of less musical church members. The euphoric singing of gospel music in huge African American churches is still a helpful counterpoint to contemporary Christian music. Hopefully I’m not the only one dreaming of worship music with modern jazz stylings - however, the task is to integrate that with accessible, biblical lyrics that encourage us to be humbled before a God that is both immanent and transcendent.
The final problem we are facing is personal in a way that makes it difficult to pin down. We can start with the obvious - God is not visible. We can’t touch him or experience him in he way that we experience each other. In a way I imagine God is less real to us than the people we love - inherently. What makes this worse, however, is that saturated in the world we live in is the assumption that God does not exist. The art forms and musical language which we have grown up in do not usually reference any concept of God, so any alignment between the two might even seem forced. We don’t have any template for applying the best of the musical world to a relationship with God. We might struggle to direct our emotions in this direction when all most of our verbal associations with musical bliss revolve around some expression of romance. If we are not fertile ground for the lyrical inspiration of God’s grace, those seeds will be snatched away by the wind, eaten by birds, choked by thorns, or scorched by the sun.¹⁸ Listen to Taelor Gray, Kendrick Lamar, Gungor, Sufjan Stevens or Kanye West for artists that have drifted in and out of commitments to God in the dreamlike church-state that is America. These artists are often musically fascinating. Their lyrics are not always transparent, but they are closer to the zeitgeist than most Christian artists are. However, it is easy to then be pulled in by the raw strength of mainstream assumption. I think that choosing safe musical forms and predictable emotional expression is a way of protecting ourselves from the unknown, from the dangers of being inhabited by an atheistic worldview, and (correspondingly) from those who are in a vulnerable position before the God who will judge humanity. So which is it? Do we write in a way that is blind to God, following the templates we have been given by the surrounding culture? Or do we write in a way that is blind to the world, in an isolationist reaction? By God’s grace we need to be rooted in every reality at once. The reality of the world and the beauty of its musical language must be matched and complemented, and mutually elevate each other.
There are Christian artists who produce music that has lyrical depth, is musically innovative, and has a connection to lived experience and emotion - but these artists are few and far between. I hope this essay has helped to suggest some possible reasons why this trend has exhibited itself. I’m hopeful that in coming years Christians will be more sceptical about the mandate of market forces to subdue our moral, ethical and artistic impulses. This must be a holistic movement away from skating on the twin lakes of atheistic assumption and contemporary Christian culture. We need to dive into the reality of the world we live in, spiritually, materially, emotionally and musically, to sing the “new song” that is so delightedly enjoined by the psalms.
Sources
https://themel.media/the-problems-with-contemporary-christian-music/
https://www.boundless.org/blog/christian-music-makes-me-cringe/
https://www.askingforwonder.com/2019/11/07/the-problem-with-christian-music/
https://rapzilla.com/2016-06-does-christian-music-have-a-segregation-problem/
http://briandahlen.com/2013/10/segregation-in-christian-music.html
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL7GFFQH959kq453mxktZNgNcXUP1XGd8p
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kJ20nm_g3Uc&ab_channel=SoundField
Romans 12:15
https://thewitnessbcc.com/black-church-evangelical-theological-paternalism/
https://www.centerforbiblicalunity.com/post/4-reasons-why-black-liberation-theology-is-another-gospel
Luke 7:47
https://artistictheologian.com/2013/11/13/lifting-holy-hands-nuance-nuisance-or-error-a-biblical-theology-of-the-practice-of-lifting-hands-in-worship/
https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/326738#effects
The book of Job and Jesus’ anecdotes in Luke 13 1-4 both decisively reject prosperity theology.
Philippians 4:4
Philippians 4:7
https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/hist-westphilmusic-to-1800/
Jesus’ parable in Matthew 13: 1-9
