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Ageing Hippies and a Dead-End Dream

by Jeff Godwin

We're living in a very strange time, especially for those of us who have been placed on the cutting edge of Christian evangelism by the Lord Jesus Christ. I have a heart for anyone involved in Christian broadcasting, because what used to be clear-cut choices have now become limited options based on demographics, popularity polls and income spreadsheets. There was a time when anyone with an ounce of sense and two brain cells knocking together knew that some screaming dude in a leather jacket with hair like a plate of spaghetti certainly wasn't "singing" Christian "music". All that has changed in 1994, as this excerpt from an article in "Christian Retailing" shows:

"... Many Christian retailers nationwide believe the music industry has crossed the line in its marketing and packaging attempts. Retailer's greatest concerns lie in CD covers that depict death and science-fiction issues. Retailers said the alternative and metal covers in general have caused the majority of customer flack and, as a result, they have pulled some of the titles from their shelves. In addition to customer problems, some retailers have found it's not cost-effective to expend employee effort filtering through lyrics of CDs with questionable covers."
(Christian Retailing, April 7 , 1994)

This article is saying that some Christian bookstores are now paying their staff to sit in a back room and comb through every new batch of product off the truck, trying to decide if the newest gory, weirdo CD covers and enclosed death images are really "Christian". Such things should not be, (and indeed never were), until the graying generation of the 1960s took over America's airwaves.

When the Jesus People movement hit in early 1970, a brand new philosophy came with it. Since Jesus Christ was the original hippie superstar, complete with robe, long hair and tambourine, then why don't we package and sell him to the stoned zombies of America as the original good- time" party buddy? He can be your Saviour, but all those old hidebound, stuffy rules are out - forget the shave and suit. let it all hang out, baby. Christ doesn't care, because after all, "God is love, man."

This new brand of "Christianity" was laughed at thirty years ago. Today it has integrated itself into the standards and practices of all forms of Christian media - especially religious broadcasting. Christian radio and TV is by far one of the most powerful mediums ever produced to saturate the world with the true Gospel of Jesus Christ. But in 1994, the Great Commission has been replaced by a Great Deception - that God is no longer the Lord and Master of His people. Now He's the Big Democrat in the sky; He gives us the options, and we vote on it. Just ask new CCM star Ashley Cleveland, with her song, "Skintight":

"Glad you could make it over/ Step in the room/ Shake off the night/ Can't take it any longer/ Promise you do, even you might ... Maybe that's why love like mine is skin tight/ Love like mine is skin tight/ Move a little closer/ Take in the view, lower the light/ I wanna be your lover/ To find truth and bring it to light..."

Finding "truth" through fornication.... Now there's a real biblical principle. Black is white and 2+2=5 in today's CCM circus. I'll guarantee you that many Christian radio stations and their boards, though a little uncomfortable with stuff like this, will still defend it to the death, Why? Because it's what their audience demands.

The liner notes of the "Skintight" album give special thanks to Michael Blanton. Who's he? Blanton is half of the management team that crossed Amy Grant over with her quadruple-platinum album "Heart In Motion".

Grant's "Baby Baby" video from the album showed her hanging on a big hunk of a guy who was not her husband. This created a furor with some of her fans. Amy's response?:

"The whole thing just seemed very boring to me. Besides, shooting the video was a blast. It's fun to flirt if you're a happily married woman."
(Woman's Day, Dec 22 , 1992 , p.35)

Since free "love" (sex) was one of the biggest rallying cries of the whole hippie generation, why should it surprise anyone that the stars of "Christian" music today are trumpeting the same obnoxious blast? The Grants and Clevelands of Christian Contemporary Music are "pushing the envelope" as the New Agers put it. They're creating a "paradigm shift" in the way Christianity is defined, and in the way it is packaged and produced. The big bucks that back them push this slick mess right into the control rooms of religious broadcasters all over America. Blinded by the glitz, the people in charge play their role like religious robots. How long will it be until we see some bold new CCM artist bursting forth on the horizon, proudly proclaiming his "gayness" in Jesus?

On the other side of the coin, there are multitudes of "Christian" Heavy Metal bands who are all trying desperately to follow in the footsteps of old C-Rock dinosaurs like REZ, Petra and Larry Norman. For these people, 1969 was the highpoint of American history. Stuck in an eternal time warp, their ponytails turning gray, they still see Rock & Roll ("Christianized", of course) as the ultimate saviour of society. The simple truth is this: these people have never given up the idol in their hearts. Every four or five years, a new pack of hungry imitators rise up to follow their example. The end result is a "Christian" Rock industry that now generates half a billion dollars a year. 1969 was a long time ago. Its high time Christian broadcasters truly committed to the great commission quit pandering to the dead-end dreams of a misguided generation of ageing hippies.

IT'S TIME TO GROW UP!

This leaflet is also available in printed form and free of charge, from Freedom Ministries

Jeff Godwin has several books, videos and tapes on Rock Music. He has written The Devil's Disciples, Dancing With Demons, What's Wrong With Christian Rock? and Rock & Roll Religion. All are highly recommended.

They are available from:
THE ROCK MINISTRIES
P.O. Box 2181
Bloomington, Indiana, 47402 USA

Alternatively, if you live in the UK or Europe, you can contact us at Freedom Ministries for a price list etc.

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