Is CCM too vague?

[Big_Ben]

As a CCM/C-Rock DJ and advocate - I struggle with this question time and time again. Where is the line between being an effective witness to lost listeners and watering down the message so much that no one knows it's a Christian song?

When labels send me digital copies of new music, alot of times they send the story behind the song in writing or an audio piece - which is great for me to have and communicate. But should be we have to decode a song to know what it means?

Another Christian CHR show that I listen to on occasion in the Greensboro/Winston-Salem, NC area had an interesting blog on this:


[url]http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendID=158313231&blogID=407362754
[/url]

So what do you guys think? How can we reach the lost and still honor God?

 

[MightyFrenchman]

As a CCM/C-Rock DJ and advocate - I struggle with this question time and time again. Where is the line between being an effective witness to lost listeners and watering down the message so much that no one knows it's a Christian song?

When labels send me digital copies of new music, alot of times they send the story behind the song in writing or an audio piece - which is great for me to have and communicate. But should be we have to decode a song to know what it means?

Another Christian CHR show that I listen to on occasion in the Greensboro/Winston-Salem, NC area had an interesting blog on this:


[url]http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendID=158313231&blogID=407362754
[/url]

So what do you guys think? How can we reach the lost and still honor God?

If you're producing your own program it's a matter between you & Jesus about the songs you play. I'd stick with the songs that are obviously talking about Jesus. If you're working for a radio station Program Director you'll need to follow the station's playlist & guidelines.

 

[rbrucecarter5]

As a CCM/C-Rock DJ and advocate - I struggle with this question time and time again. Where is the line between being an effective witness to lost listeners and watering down the message so much that no one knows it's a Christian song?

One more time -----

http://www.mindspring.com/~brucec/hymns.htm

If you can't find the name of Jesus explicitly in these venerable old hymns - some of which are really brain dead (Give me that old time religion), then I would say Biblical viewpoints on issues - communicated through the lyrics - is definitely within the range of CCM. We are, after all, trying to reach the lost. Being too "preachy" is one way to lose them. Being an old fisherman myself, and also now "fishing for men", I can tell you that you don't catch the biggest and plumpest fish by dangling the bait right in front of it. It didn't get old and fat by being stupid. You play with the bait a bit - draw it away and then move it back like there is something alive there. Analogous to the music. It needs to be alive. 4:4 beat plodding along reminds me of a comatose patient in the hospital. The message is in the music, the more they listen to the music, the more they get the message. If there is some life there in the music. You want to save someone to something boring - send them to the Amish church and they will hear plenty of boring music. Its not for the overwhelming majority of people, however, who want to actually have a life, have some fun, and listen to music that is fun - and still has a Christian message.

Let the Holy Spirit take care of the saving. Your job is to be salt and light. The musicians know what they are doing. Steer away from artists who don't walk the walk or have turned from Christ to follow false religions (like Cat Stevens). Some secular artists may stumble onto scriptural truth - like .38 Special's "Hold on Loosely" - a masterful interpretation of I Cor 13 - but unless you have the full support of station management, don't play crossovers from secular artists. And even if you do have the support - get ready for flames of judgement from the narrow minded. They will be vocal!

By the way - lest I be accused of picking on "Give me that Old Time Religion", there is an upbeat CCM song that is equally brain dead - the lyrics go something like "I believe, I believe, I believe in the World of God - 'cause He made me believe". EXCUSE ME???? He MADE me believe? What about free will. I don't play that one, even though it is upbeat.

 

[passafistwastaken]

I read a great interview with Flyleaf at MTV recently.... and I quote....

"We all share the same faith. And so when we deal with the whole 'Christian band thing,' we kind of think about something P.O.D. says, like, 'If you're a Christian, it affects everything in your life. So if you're a plumber, does that make you a Christian plumber?' " Mosley said. "I don't know the answer. We're a band, it's part of who we are, so it comes out in our music, and it's the fuel for what we do. And finding faith saved my life. So I'm not ashamed of it at all. And most of our album reflects that."

http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1528919/20060418/flyleaf.jhtml

 

[justalurker]

One more time -----

If only THAT were true.


Play what your audience will accept. If that means no old hymns that fail to mention Jesus, so be it.
If that means no empty "could have heard it on a country or rap station" songs, so be it.
Define your audience - serve your audience - do not betray your audience.

 

[gr8oldies]

Which begs the question....can Church of Christ members listen to CCM if it doesn't take place in the church building? The CoC pastors I've run into at radio stations don't seem to have a problem telling us they enjoy our music format..and one even came in with a country station T-shirt and it was an non-instrumental CoC.

 

[rbrucecarter5]

Which begs the question....can Church of Christ members listen to CCM if it doesn't take place in the church building? The CoC pastors I've run into at radio stations don't seem to have a problem telling us they enjoy our music format..and one even came in with a country station T-shirt and it was an non-instrumental CoC.

I have no idea if any CoC were listening to our programming. They aren't real big in Florida. I put them in the same category as Amish - very sectarian and a lost cause as far as any significant portion of the audience. I sure didn't turn away any denomination, sect, or even cult as listeners, but made no compromises in the message of the show, which was Biblical Christianity. Even so - I had Jehovah Witness listeners and a Morman lady as a DJ (who was under strict instructions NOT to promote the Mormon faith on the air).

CoC = LoL ("Lack of Love" that is!)

 

[gr8oldies]

At the oldies LPFM I volunteer for, 2 of our religious shows are CoC. They have to agree not to bash any other religion, which I'm sure is tough since CoC is all about being the only group that's right.

 

[anotherguyTN]

The question about the CofC depends a lot on the individual church and members. In West TN most CofC's still have the attitude that they're the only true church from the pulpit. There are individual members who may not go along totally with that attitude, but if they were to speak up in church about it they might risk discipline at least or expulsion at the worst. However there are some CofC's that are getting away from that attitude, and they're generally accused of being "liberals" by the more traditional churches.

There is one CofC in Jackson, TN that actually supported a recent CCM festival in the area. I believe that their viewpoint was that CCM might not be appropriate for worship according to their teachings, but that it was OK to listen to at other times. They're a rare exception in this area, but I hope they're the opening the door to a larger change of attitude in CofC's on this area. I don't agree with their attitude of no instrumental music in worship, but I can come closer to going along with their attitude than the idea a lot of churches push that SG, classical, etc. are approprate for worship but not CCM.

I think if that the CofC's attitude changes it will be from inside when more of their leaders and members speak up against the "We're the only true church" mentality.

 

[justalurker]

It's better than an "all roads lead to God and everybody is right" mentality ... but I digress.
This is a forum for discussing religious radio, not religions themselves.

Back to topic?

 

[rbrucecarter5]

It's better than an "all roads lead to God and everybody is right" mentality ... but I digress.
This is a forum for discussing religious radio, not religions themselves.

Back to topic?

Not really! It is an interesting discussion that is the antithesis of the "Instrumental" thread. Here you have this sect that believes instruments are evil. They aren't the only ones. We had a curious novelty hit on our charts. It was a version of Kyrie - it sounded like a complete band but every single musical element was done by a human voice. ALL from "bass guitar" to "drums". I don't think you will ever hear that group doing it on tour, it must have taken a lot of studio wizardry to pull it off. But - as a completely acapella version - it would be acceptable in any CoC.

The point here is - you can't program to the peculiarities of one sect, no matter how many of them there are in a given locality. The number of sectarian groups is probably in the hundreds, you will never please them all with your programming. It is best to go mainstream and reach out to the majority of Biblically based Christians and hope that the programming is also appealing to the lost, they will be entertained and stick around to be informed about the faith. If you start pushing Jesus + something. Anything - the CoC stuff, a particular Bible translation, a certain way to be baptized (or bapTIZED like our CoC friends say it), whatever non-salvation issue it is, you have just limited your audience, reduced your effectiveness, and you are on the verge of heresy.

 

[justalurker]

The trouble is if you spend all your time trying to please everyone you will find that you have divided your audience into portions you are taking turns pleasing. Some of those people won't notice or won't care when you're not pleasing them ... others will notice that most of your programming isn't pleasing to them ... and they will not be loyal to your station.

The basic direction ... which isn't limited to religious formats ... is to be who you are and let your listeners know where you stand. If that means you don't play hymns because they don't mention Jesus or simply because they don't blend well with the rest of your playlist - fine. That is a decision you can make (if you control a station's content or that control has been delegated to you).

Everyone else does not have to be wrong because they make a different programming decision than you. And you don't have to drag religious stereotypes into the conversation and spend time bashing any particular religion for their musical choices. At least not in a forum that is about the programming, not the religions.

 

[anotherguyTN]

It's better than an "all roads lead to God and everybody is right" mentality ... but I digress.
This is a forum for discussing religious radio, not religions themselves.

Back to topic?

I don't go with the "all roads..." mentality either and I do believe that Jesus is the only way. What I was referring to was a large part of the CofC's attitude toward other Christian denominations, and how it relates to their attitude toward CCM, which was part of the discussion. I agree with Bruce though that for the most part their group is largely a lost cause as far as their accepting CCM, at least at the present time.

I'll admit I don't want to turn this into a heavy theological discussion, but I believe my comments were related to the thread.