Christian Pop Music

A point that is often missed is that God is not the ONLY hearer of a song. There usually are MORTALS listening too. A wordless howl, if sincerely intended as worship, is acceptable to God....but humans won't learn much from it. Many traditional hymns are INSTRUCTIVE, like Sunday school classes that rhyme; modern Christian songs should be that way more often. And yes, it IS possible to do this without being stuffy.
 
If the tune/words are not important, why does a song like "Awesome God" or "I Can Sing of Your Love Forever" hit top spots? Why not just read off poetry?

No, the fact is, the beat and the tone does matter, because the beat and the tone bring off the emotional response more fully than just the words.

I'm from Michigan. Gordon Lightfoot sings a song called "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald", regarding a boat that went under in Lake Superior carrying 29 souls. During the song, a ship's bell is rung (and in one concert I heard, it was the Ed Fitz's bell) 29 times.

Now as the ghostly song is being sung, and the peel of the bell rings above Lightfoot's voice, and the peel echoes in the chamber that he's playing.. and you think of the man who that specific tone represents.. you can't tell me that the tone and the beat don't mean something.

In music, the words are the message, and the rest is the delivery. If the words were the sole thing of import, we'd all be singing the Bible, straight up, in Latin, as the Gregorian monks do it.
 
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this is kind of a shock to me

wowww this is kind of a shock to me about Christian POP music and what artists do behind the scenes backstage :( i listen to Christian music but i guess everyone has to have discernment on what they read or listen to
 
Pardine said:
If the tune/words are not important, why does a song like "Awesome God" or "I Can Sing of Your Love Forever" hit top spots? Why not just read off poetry?

No, the fact is, the beat and the tone does matter, because the beat and the tone bring off the emotional response more fully than just the words.

I'm from Michigan. Gordon Lightfoot sings a song called "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald", regarding a boat that went under in Lake Superior carrying 29 souls. During the song, a ship's bell is rung (and in one concert I heard, it was the Ed Fitz's bell) 29 times.

Now as the ghostly song is being sung, and the peel of the bell rings above Lightfoot's voice, and the peel echoes in the chamber that he's playing.. and you think of the man who that specific tone represents.. you can't tell me that the tone and the beat don't mean something.

In music, the words are the message, and the rest is the delivery. If the words were the sole thing of import, we'd all be singing the Bible, straight up, in Latin, as the Gregorian monks do it.
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if you'd re-read my post, I said that the WORDS ARE indeed important. That should be the standard of judging a song..any song from any genre....then the tune. So what if a song's beat is annoying? A lot of popular songs have re-mixes or other artists will buy the rights and re-make it themselves.

Personally, I think that this thread is pointless. Therefore, my opinion ends here and now.
 
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Has no one said Hillsong??!??!?!?!?! Misty Edwards!?!?!?!? Phil Wickham is also good. Their songs are so anointed by the Holy Spirit and they're awesome!!! Misty Edwards has a myspace where you can listen to her songs, she's probably my favorite. Don't be completely discouraged by today's artists! If you seek out the good songs God will show them to you!!! A new artist is Francesca Battistelli, I have her entire CD "My Paper Heart" memorized by heart lol!!! She explored a variety of styles on her CD and I would highly suggest them.



FOLLOW THIS LINK:

http://www.francescamusic.com/
 
It is true most of the Christian "pop" music does sound the same. Yes, and the words are very shallow (I think that's the word I'm looking for)....yeah...
 
Hillsong is probably the best solely praise and worship pop group out there. Although they basically have the same sound, they're song's messages vary a lot, so it's always fresh. Plus their songs are easy for other church groups to play. I know we have at least three of their original songs or versions of them.

In terms of the instrumental parts or music always going for the same emotional appeal, that's the style of today's (or the 80's and 90's) style of music. It's a well-known fact that music evolves, and the style of today's most commonly used praise and worship songs is just a part of that God-influenced evolution. The quote by the Tenth Avenue North singer is correct; words move a persons emotions if they listen, and the music helps their bodies move along (*Sings* I like to move it move it! I like to move it move..... :D)
 
Aravis Kenobi said:
Personally, I think that this thread is pointless. Therefore, my opinion ends here and now.
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I hope you are not angry about the opinions here, and I do want to thank you for saying what you said. In fact, I want to thank everyone for their opinions and for their recommendations. I will check them all out.

Like I said before, a lot of music is also a matter of taste so what some people like, others might not.

I didn't intend for this thread to be a debate because I know how "discussions" are handled here. I don't like "discussion" threads in this forum and don't participate in them anymore. The purpose of this thread was for people to give me links or names of artists or songs that they think I might like. Many of you have done so and I appreciate that.
 
The words are VERY important, but in order for others to hear it sometimes we might have to make it a bit more upbeat. We can't just have Christians listening to 'Christian' songs. Or else what's the point of that?
 
Final Dreamer said:
I beg to differ about them sounding the same. I listen to alot of Christian Pop.
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If you listen to a lot of Christian Pop, then you probably know more than me. Any good ones you think I might like?

What I would like to get out of this thread is for people to point me to good Christian music. What I've heard so far doesn't move me, but that doesn't mean there is nothing good out there. I just can't find it.
 
spiritual temperaments

Hi BK
Here are three artists that I like because their lyrics have content, and because I've met the artists themselves and have a lot of respect for their earnest integrity in their walk with God:

Wes Terasaki
"He is God" - when I first heard this song it made me cry!
Terasaki's work is not well known, but is available in Southern Cal or online through the Japanese Evangelical Missionary Society (JEMS)

David Gaulton
mellow, thoughtful, worship-full
His CDs are available through Heavenly Treasures [Online Store]

Brian Doerksen
writer of classic praise songs like "Come, Now is the Time to Worship"
He is very down to earth and unpretentious
His "Holy God" CD is in my alarm clock so his version of the Lord's prayer wakes me every morning

Aravis Kenobi said:
...If you want to pick at a song, pick at "I could Sing of YOur Love Forever."

It's called the 7\11 song because it has 7 words which are repeated 11+ times every time it's sung. That is one of the dumbest songs ever recorded.
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Aravis K: Your 7/11 description made me crack up :p

I think the 7/11 songs are not so much about ideas as feelings, going past the words to an experiential connection with Jesus. Depending on your spiritual/worship temperament those type of songs can either distract you from worship because you are wondering, "When is this boring song ever going to end?" OR in the case of a sensate type worshiper they can really stir up a sense of "Yes! It's You and me, Jesus!" like that cute little lion that was revived from being a statue in the White Witch's fortress. Remember him? the one that kept running around and saying stuff like 'Aslan -- like yeah, Us Lions...!'

Personally I prefer more content in the songs I sing in church, but just like there is a diversity of members to the Body of Christ, I believe there is a diversity of worship styles too, from traditional to ascetic, from didactic to sensate, etc. And rather than diss worship styles that go against my preferences, I'd rather just recognize the differences, and try harder to focus more deliberately during 7/11 songs -- for example, by signing the words as I sing. That way my body doing the sign language helps me really think about what I am singing over and over, so I get more out of the song.

[If you are interested in reading more about worship temperaments, you might enjoy reading *What Is Your God Language: Connecting with God Through the Spiritual Temperments* by Myra Perrine. She identifies nine spiritual temperaments and discusses the characteristics, strengths and blindspots of each. She concludes that we as the body of Christ need each other, because where we are weak, folks of other temperaments can come alongside and help us and together we can worship God more fully.]

I had an interesting experience recently. Someone loaned me a recording of worship songs in Mandarin, and I started playing it in my car for my mom (Chinese is her first language). From what I can tell, many of the songs on the tape are of the 7/11 genre. But because my vocabulary is so limited, the songs really spoke to me with their repetitions because it was so cool to be able to understand snatches of the songs repeated at intervals. My mom too seemed to enjoy them and was humming along :) If it had been a tape of theologically dense lyrics I probably would have been so lost I would have gotten nothing out of them; so it kind of opened my eyes more to the beauty and value of simple repetitive praise songs. No, they are not my preferred type of songs, but I can see their value.

In the end these songs are not judged by Christ by their musical sophistication or depth of lyrics, but by the hearts of those who wrote the songs, --and by the hearts of those that sing them back to Him as an offering of praise. But If a certain song really bugs you, don't sing it with a bad attitude! Read the Bible or pray till the song Finally is over ;)
 
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Some of my favorites by Casting Crowns are East To West, Word Is Alive, Slow Fade, Praise You In This Storm, and While You Were Sleeping. And some of my favorites by David Phelps are End Of The Beginning, Revelation, Just As I Am, No More Night, and Gentle Savior. :)
 
Benisse said:
In the end these songs are not judged by Christ by their musical sophistication or depth of lyrics, but by the hearts of those who wrote the songs, --and by the hearts of those that sing them back to Him as an offering of praise. But If a certain song really bugs you, don't sing it with a bad attitude! Read the Bible or pray till the song Finally is over ;)
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I hope no one misunderstood me earlier when I gave my opinion of Christian music, because I heartily agree that the words of worship songs and the attitudes of the worshippers are very important. But on the other hand, I do think the quality of the music is important too, because after all, we are worshipping the God of the entire universe, and He deserves only our best. Would God have been satisfied if the Israelites just slapped the temple together, without putting all of their efforts and best craftsmanship into it? I don't think so. I also don't think it's right to quickly jot down a song and sing it to God, saying, "Well maybe it's not the greatest music ever written, but at least my heart's in the right place." Certainly, we must come before God with hearts of adoration and humility, but I don't think we should allow ourselves to neglect the quality of what we're giving God. In the Old Testament when the Isralelites had to bring sacrifices to God, they were commanded to bring the best that they had, or the best that they could afford. That's not something that stopped once Jesus came. God still deserves our best, even in music.


One of my favorite songs is Who Am I? by Casting Crowns. I also like Praise You with the Dance. Actually, I like pretty much all of Casting Crowns' songs, although at the moment I can't remember the name of them all.
 
I have some thoughts to share. However, in the interest of honoring BK's request that this not be a discussion thread, I propose we start a discussion thread to address the issue of nit just Christian pop music, but to include Christian sacred music (e.g. worship music, hymns, liturgical music, etc.)

Anyone game?
 
I know I said I'd not post here again, but just thought I'd share this quote from Rick Warren (this is the only thing I agree with him on!)

"The problems with worship is that Christians are seeking an experience instead of seeking God."

in other words, the 'experience" Warren is referring to is the emotional, hand-raising, etc... displays of sometimes false worship. Note, I don't have any problems with this kind of worship IF IT'S FROM THE HEART. But the people I've seen it from, try to pretend they're holy when they're not. They do it for display instead of in a genuine sincere desire to really worship God. Every person worships differently.

but if you want some good recommendations for Christian pop:
Joy Williams,
Chris Tomlin,
Casting Crowns,
David Crowder*Band,
Matt Redman,
Mark Schultz...

soem others you might like but i don't know if they're classified as pop or not:
Jeremy Camp,
Rebecca St. James,
Bethany Dillon,
BarlowGirl,
Steven CUrtis Chapman,
Carman (his stuff is awesome!),
Mark Lowry,
Gaither Vocal Band,

that's all I can think of right now.
 
BK, have you heard of Jennifer Knapp? She has more of a folk-ish sound to her, and I really like her work!!! I have her "The Collection: Limited Edition-Two Disk Set" and on there her voice is atypical and she's an alto, so I can sing along with her easily!

I don't know if you saw my first post, but worship wise, Misty Edwards(from IHOP Kansas City, MO) and Rita Springer have very rich lyrics and some neat work. I listen to a ton of Christan music on pandora.com where you can listen to a certain artist that you like, and then they'll play songs similar to that song. If you don't like a song they play then you'll never have to hear it again!!! It's a really awesome free site(they do have limited commercial interruptions though, like one every 2 hours maybe?). But deff. check out that site if you'd like to hear these suggestions for yourself!!!

PS- KEITH GREEN!!!! He was in the 70s JESUS movement, and he's got the 70s style, but JESUS lyrics. I'd recommend all of his work, especially any songs from his evangelism CD.
 
Thanks to everyone. I will look up all the recommendations. I think everyone should look up recommendations of those songs and artists they don't know.

And I do remember the old timers like Keith Green, Carman, Steven Curtis Chapman and those. It is the new stuff that I haven't really liked. At least what I have heard so far.
 
BarbarianKing said:
Thanks to everyone. I will look up all the recommendations. I think everyone should look up recommendations of those songs and artists they don't know.

And I do remember the old timers like Keith Green, Carman, Steven Curtis Chapman and those. It is the new stuff that I haven't really liked. At least what I have heard so far.
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Jeremy Camp has...I don't know, like 4 or 5 albums out *some of them are live performances and collections of hits or what-not* but you can't hardly miss with him. I have REstored, Stay, Beyond Measure, and Carried Me. They're all really good. I think why I like him is his sound and his story. Just how he's using his music to show people how God has worked with him and through him is awesome. One of my goals is to see him in concert someday. :D
 
Some albums you may want to look into are the INO Records, I-Worship series. All of them usually have 2 CDs, except for the I-Worship Experience, which came with a DVD. All of them are filled with remarkable worship songs, and all done by modern artists.
 
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