The next reverse crossover artist?

[William_Yeager]

How did we let OneRepublic get away?

 

[Retro]

They're Christians? ok.

 

[William_Yeager]

Here are some relevant snippets from the liner notes:

Ryan Tedder - "First of all, I would like to thank God for any measure of success or ability I have. Wherever this music goes, and wherever I end up in this life is a result of His will and my attempt to pursue it."

Zach Filkins - "To my Creator, for your constant, passionate unmovable love for me. My life has no meaning without you!"

Drew Brown - "I would like to thank God for his infinite patience and grace, without which none of this would be remotely possible."

Eddie Fisher - "Jesus Christ;"

Brent Kutzle - "My savior and constant provider, Christ."

All of these are actually at the beginning of the individual thank-yous.

 

[justalurker]

Sounds like any sports star after a success.

We're not the judges ... only God knows their hearts. If the content of their music has changed to where it no longer ministers or appeals to spreading Christianity it is a loss. There are too many neutral (or negative) messages out there already. Losing a positive voice is never good.

 

[PSA_Man]

How did we let OneRepublic get away?

probably because someone in Nashville turned them away because they didn't sound like a country band. We've let a lot of good Christian bands get away Lifehouse, The Fray, Flyleaf and many others.

 

[Retro]

Their song apologize, while I like it doesn't really seem to have a real Christian theme at all.

 

[JimmyJames]

The above post represents why programming contemporary, relevant Christian radio is a challenge. We can't be Christians in radio, or Christians who play music. Our songs have to be explicitly evangelical at all times or someone will question our faith. Christians shop, fall in love, eat, travel, work, and do anything else that humans do. Some of us even drink and are merry (in moderation, of course.) And all of us sin. Therefore, I'd say a Christian band can sing about any subject as long as they're approaching it from the perspective of their personal relationship with Christ. I wonder if the lack of "Christian enough" songs was what kept Kevin Max from getting much attention for his solo discs, which are excellent. Sad.

 

[justalurker]

Christians can do more than Christian works ... but we also need Christians who are willing to do Christian works ... especially talented ones.

Christians singing secular is like an opera singer singing Barney songs. Misplaced talent. The only good thing about Christians who go undercover into the mainstream is that their music is generally clean. Their love songs focus on covenant relationships, not sexual prowess.

If people who would never give a Christian a second listen are going to listen to mainstream music they might as well listen to clean uplifting music and not gutter trash.

 

[passafistwastaken]

"Christian works"

Doesn't this get to the nature of what is art? Francis Schaffer's pamphlet Art and the Bible, talks about the decoration in the temple and that much of it was there as purely decoration! Much of what were discussing is (whether negative or positive?!? That's a different issue) more about preference. I could write 2000 "bad" hymns that never get recorded or sung and they fall on def ears, or I could write an "excellent" song about canned peaches that gets 1 million spins.

The bigger issue is why OneRepublic, The Fray, or Lifehouse can't get Christians to look at them or why bands like Flyleaf have such a small chance of exposure in the "Christian" arena that they have to enter the mainstream to get people to listen? We need fewer Christian works and more Regular Art from Christians.

This is not really a Radio topic. It's more of a problem of logistics. Since Christian music is a "Niche" style to begin with you have to program the format that best fits your audience, and well that makes the playing field even smaller. As long as these men live by their convictions and are not afraid to shine light to the people they come in contact with backstage, does the song really matter? Christ can do anything with nothing, and sometimes it's a better praise to present God your gift of cooking, cleaning, or good accounting than writing a praise and worship song.

Art and arts topics are subjective!

 

[rbrucecarter5]

The above post represents why programming contemporary, relevant Christian radio is a challenge. We can't be Christians in radio, or Christians who play music. Our songs have to be explicitly evangelical at all times or someone will question our faith. Christians shop, fall in love, eat, travel, work, and do anything else that humans do. Some of us even drink and are merry (in moderation, of course.) And all of us sin. Therefore, I'd say a Christian band can sing about any subject as long as they're approaching it from the perspective of their personal relationship with Christ. I wonder if the lack of "Christian enough" songs was what kept Kevin Max from getting much attention for his solo discs, which are excellent. Sad.

Well put. I answered this old argument a decade ago, and my answer is still as relevant today:

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

 

[MyCatKnight]

Christians can do more than Christian works ... but we also need Christians who are willing to do Christian works ... especially talented ones.

Agreed.

Christians singing secular is like an opera singer singing Barney songs. Misplaced talent.

Disagreed, respectfullly. I am in the business of good radio, not of judging where an artist or band feels led. If they feel led to go one way and deliberately go the other, then that's between them and God.

Plug in "fresh band or act of the day" on this endless argument. I will agree to disagree with some of you, and move on. I can only take so much arguing over the Frays, Daughtrys, and Natasha Bedingfields, etc. of the world (please don't hold me to these as concrete examples, I don't have the time to research them right now). Yes, it looks suspect when a Christian station waits until an artist makes it big on secular radio before playing the artist. And yes, I would rather hear a good artist aired late than never.

 

[justalurker]

"Christian works"

Doesn't this get to the nature of what is art?

No, it doesn't. I'm not disputing the art or not of the work ... I'm disputing the value to Christianity of the work.

The decoration of the temple may be "just decoration" but if it serves the purpose of inspiring others to grow closer to Christ it can take on more meaning than perhaps originally intended. Perhaps some can find inspiration in the God-less works of Christian musicians as well ... in the right setting. The temple could qualify as "the right setting".

Bruce ... I wonder if the lack of the name Jesus in hymns was more out of respect and culture? His name seems to be thrown around a lot more often in the past couple of decades. I'm not one of those people that requires the name to be in every song ... and in some cases I wished that it wasn't in certain songs. The reverence has been lost.

Idiot ... (How do I abbreviate your name?) I agree that the decision to "go secular" is between the artists and God. It isn't something that should be manipulated by others (including those using the temptation of worldly success vs staying in a more active ministry position). My main point is what you have agreed to ... that we need Christians willing to stay Christian.

As far as their works ... I hope we're not sinking the level of "Christian enough" to let songs and artists pass just because of their mainstream popularity. Somewhere between "the band is back in their home church every Sunday and have no known moral problems" and "the former drummer was baptized at the age of three and never fellowshipped again and the band is known to take groupies privately in their motorcoach" is a pain threshold for each programmer that cares what message the music they choose to play. That threshold is also between the programmer and God.

 

[JimmyJames]

"God-less works of Christian musicians" is a confusing concept to me. If a Christian musician records a song that is not against Christianity, then it's not a "God-less" work in my book. Do Christian carpenters make "God-less" furniture? Do Christian cooks serve "God-less" food? I venture that doing your best work in whatever sector you're gifted in and doing it ethically is a testament to your faith and values system. For a Christian musician, that's coming from Christ. I find this preoccupation with the externals of one's product (songs, in this case) to suggest somehow that one's work and values can be compartmentalized and graded by degrees to be a slippery slope that could lead to a lot of talented Christians being unfairly dismissed by Christian radio and labels.

 

[justalurker]

Is it really your best work as a Christian if you eliminate Christianity from your work product? If you are talented in delivering a message to the public (perhaps through song) how can your best work sidestep the Great Commission? Reaching out to thousands or millions and telling them ... nothing ... is the best a Christian can do?

Are we living in Laodicea?

BTW: If "God-less" is confusing perhaps "God-free" would be more fitting. I wish I would have used that term instead.

 

[PSA_Man]

Isn't the purpose of most CCM station to bring more people to know our Lord and savior? Most CCM station have 1 mission statement (they are all in different words) but end up at the same point that these stations would reach the lost, the hurt, and those without Christ. So why are most stations programmed for "Christians" if the station purpose is to bring in the lost shouldn't they be programmed for the lost??? Play songs with clean, moral values and of course some Christ centered lyrics but not restrict it to all preachy lyrics? bait and hook them, play the Fray, Flyleaf, lifehouse (songs that non-believers likes) they'll listen for recreational purposes and then suddenly comes a Casting Crowns, Mercy Me, Thrid Day song and before they know Jesus goes to work and there it is a stirring in their hearts.

As Christians we have taken it upon ourselves to make Christian radio ours, play what "I" want, what "I" need instead of let radio be the complete tool it can be for the Lord. We think it's us that bring people to the Lord, isn't God the one the draws people onto Himself. Does it matter who sings the song? didn't God use a donkey to speak perhaps the person that was supposed to deliver that message didn't because it didn't "test well" with others. We need to stop putting God in a box!

 

[BehindTheLines]

Isn't the purpose of most CCM station to bring more people to know our Lord and savior? Most CCM station have 1 mission statement (they are all in different words) but end up at the same point that these stations would reach the lost, the hurt, and those without Christ.

Reaching the lost? I'd say that's a nice side benefit to CCM radio. But it's definitely NOT the chief aim of most CCM stations. I think it's time we did away with highlighting the false intention of reaching the lost with our stations. If that was really what we wanted to do, we'd do what "Pulse" in Iowa has done. Jesus didn't build an empire and expect the lost to come to him. He went out and found them.

Why should we EVER expect the lost to come in great numbers to our stations programmed to preach to the choir?

 

[PSA_Man]

Isn't the purpose of most CCM station to bring more people to know our Lord and savior? Most CCM station have 1 mission statement (they are all in different words) but end up at the same point that these stations would reach the lost, the hurt, and those without Christ.

Reaching the lost? I'd say that's a nice side benefit to CCM radio. But it's definitely NOT the chief aim of most CCM stations. I think it's time we did away with highlighting the false intention of reaching the lost with our stations. If that was really what we wanted to do, we'd do what "Pulse" in Iowa has done. Jesus didn't build an empire and expect the lost to come to him. He went out and found them.

Why should we EVER expect the lost to come in great numbers to our stations programmed to preach to the choir?

WoW I didn't think we were on the same page Behindthelines. I guess we may be at the very least in programming stratagies. I couldn't agree more with you!

 

[BehindTheLines]

Isn't the purpose of most CCM station to bring more people to know our Lord and savior? Most CCM station have 1 mission statement (they are all in different words) but end up at the same point that these stations would reach the lost, the hurt, and those without Christ.

Reaching the lost? I'd say that's a nice side benefit to CCM radio. But it's definitely NOT the chief aim of most CCM stations. I think it's time we did away with highlighting the false intention of reaching the lost with our stations. If that was really what we wanted to do, we'd do what "Pulse" in Iowa has done. Jesus didn't build an empire and expect the lost to come to him. He went out and found them.

Why should we EVER expect the lost to come in great numbers to our stations programmed to preach to the choir?

WoW I didn't think we were on the same page Behindthelines. I guess we may be at the very least in programming stratagies. I couldn't agree more with you!

Well, I've got to agree with you on this. There's very little money in true evengelism. It's a calling fashioned for those who aren't interested in getting rich. I'm not saying you have to be poor to evengelize. But he who is interested in making a great living doing religious radio will aim at those who will give...and those are the believers.

He who wants to TRULY evengelize the lost is going to have to be in a much more humble situation most times. This seems to fly in the face of many HUGE evangelism ministries and their multi-billion dollar budgets. But I can't remember the last time I tuned in to one of these ministries and really heard a message targeted soley at the lost. Most of the time, they're trying to get the faithful to give more money.

Here's a question: How many believers would give to a radio station that didn't minister to them...but that minsitered to the lost exclusively?

 

[PSA_Man]

Isn't the purpose of most CCM station to bring more people to know our Lord and savior? Most CCM station have 1 mission statement (they are all in different words) but end up at the same point that these stations would reach the lost, the hurt, and those without Christ.

Reaching the lost? I'd say that's a nice side benefit to CCM radio. But it's definitely NOT the chief aim of most CCM stations. I think it's time we did away with highlighting the false intention of reaching the lost with our stations. If that was really what we wanted to do, we'd do what "Pulse" in Iowa has done. Jesus didn't build an empire and expect the lost to come to him. He went out and found them.

Why should we EVER expect the lost to come in great numbers to our stations programmed to preach to the choir?

WoW I didn't think we were on the same page Behindthelines. I guess we may be at the very least in programming stratagies. I couldn't agree more with you!

Here's a question: How many believers would give to a radio station that didn't minister to them...but that minsitered to the lost exclusively?

Sadly... very little to none.

 

[Retro]

The new Pulse FM seems to be an interesting move.