Not Your Mom’s Christian Music

April 7, 2023

There is a revival happening, and we get to witness it.

I want you to imagine something for me; picture your life without music. Every car ride, concert, shower, stroll around campus, and workout is absolutely silent… I think you and I can both agree that life would be a relatively unenjoyable experience if we weren’t able to indulge in our favorite songs. Although we may not notice it, music plays a tremendous role in our day-to-day functions. It has the ability to lift us up when we are feeling low and motivate us to push through seasons that bear a heavy burden on our shoulders. It’s crazy to think of what just a few rhymes and instruments can do.

Music is an essential aspect of life, which is no different for Christians. For Christians, the difference comes in the content. We want to enjoy music without compromising our values, and for a while, Christianity and quality music only sometimes went together. Let’s be honest; we are not always in the mood to listen to a Southern Baptist choir or hear that K-Love contemporary Christian hit for the 100^th time. Christian music has not been taken seriously in the music industry for a while, but we are witnessing a revolution. This is the best time to listen to Christian Music. We have bands like Gable Price & Friends, Jervis Campbell, Allie Paige, Taylor Armstrong, and Antoine Bradford making Christian music as we have never heard before. That list can go on. We are seeing singers and songwriters using the gifts and creativity that God gave them to make good, inventive Christian music that is not only quality but powerful. We may not sing these songs on a Sunday morning, but that’s okay. God created us all uniquely, and for Christian music to echo this diversity is beautiful.

The ’90s and ’00s were rough for Christian music. It sounded the same. Sure, there were different genres, but it all had that Christian music vibe that made it so similar. As we entered the 2010s, we started to see a change in this music; it became more inventive. One of the pioneers of this movement was Ghost Ship. They were a group of worship leaders who set out to make Christian music sound different. I highly recommend the songs “Son of David” and “Where Were You.” This is where we began to see that Christian music can be God-honoring but sound distinctly unique.

Fast forward to now, we live in a time where talented songwriters create beautiful Christian music. This is exciting! This is praiseworthy. Now hear me out. I am not saying that other CCM music is terrible or not honoring God. We need to celebrate the awakening of a new generation of Christian music talent. Take the song “I’m remembering” by Taylor Armstrong. You will most likely not hear this song on Christian radio or at your local church, but it is still worship-inspiring, recounting God’s provision in our lives. We also see an increasing number of songs that don’t just talk about how life is great with God. Because sometimes it is not, and sometimes it is tough. People need to hear this expressed through worship, so they don’t search for that in secular music.

God has created a tremendous capacity for creativity in us, and seeing this creativity bring forth unique music that glorifies God is amazing. I look forward to where this leads us, and I hope you are too. Come to our last Open Mic of the semester on the 18th at 7 p.m. to witness a new generation of creativity and talent!