Why do so few overtly Christian songs break through commercially? How come there aren’t any powerful musical accomplishments among Christian musicians to rival, say, the long string of major hits by the Eagles? So I’ve been asked at times.
First, let’s make sure everyone understands there is a bias in secular music management against Christian music. The religion genre has its own market and marketing strategies, and the two don’t mix. For example, you can’t audition for American Idol singing a religious song. The exceptions in the system are notable, because they are so rare.
Second, the existence of a Christian music genre separate from the secular music market guarantees that rarity of “cross-over” hits. Worst of all, it guarantees the grubby-greedy-filthy ethics of the music management business maintains control even in the Christian market. As long as it’s “business” you can’t keep Babylon out of it.
The entire purpose of Christian music is not music, per se. It is worship. In the world of faith, all things are worship. You are either building up the glory of God, or that of Satan. There is no neutral ground; Jesus said so Himself. (And another thing: If I have to cite chapter and verse to prove that, you haven’t read the Bible enough. The ANE assumptions are you will recognize the reference.) In our minds, we over-philosophize about the divisions between overt support, overt attack, and things which seem neutral. In the Realm of the Spirit, there is such a thing as “harmless” in that sense, but I find the notion of black-n-white dichotomy a purely Western cultural invention. What Jesus meant was the matter of loyalty. If God is at the center of your desires, you are unlikely to embarrass Him.
This whole debate shows our cultural schizophrenia. We compartmentalize our world; that’s the whole purpose behind the analytical frame of reference. While we acknowledge a given thing can fit into different categories, even competing categories, we give far too much importance to the mere existence of categories in the first place. It’s okay to note our human experience in the world can be segmented into a logical structure, but to assume that structure is itself “reality,” even when we propagate that structure globally to most other humans (“academic standards”), is madness. Yes, it’s necessary for language to have definable terms in order to communicate between humans. What is not necessary is the degree to which we apply such structures, as if that’s the fundamental nature of Creation itself.
So explain this: The Beethoven, Wagner, and Satie I dearly love help me focus when I’m trying to write, but the Eagles, whom I also rather like, get in the way. Likewise, Petra and Bloodgood, also much beloved, also get in the way. It’s not simply a matter of instrumental versus lyrics, either. Strauss can get in the way, but the “Hallelujah Chorus” and “Carol of the Bells” do not. You may believe you or someone else can explain it, but it won’t explain it well enough to change things. And while we might mark that down to some degree as conditioning, it still is not, nor can ever be, something science and philosophy will ever fully explain.
The fundamental issue will always be that point of commitment: To what are you ultimately loyal? It won’t matter if some Christian band produces a hokey tune and unimaginative lyrics. Other Christians can sense the loyalty behind the song, and it will sell. That’s hardly the whole story behind the marketing of, say CCM. There’s a lot going on at the same time. Artistry matters, and whether it will sell to the crowd with the most money in their hands. Some of the most annoying songs are also the most comforting for a wide audience, so we keep hearing them. Or perhaps the song simply tickles an addictive mental distraction people want.
The Christian music market is rooted in Babylon, and some of the most loyal followers of Christ never get an album out. Some of the greatest artists of our time still labor in obscurity. Secular marketing has a very hard time with anything that won’t provoke mass appeal. For all their excuses, the marketing folks know they are trying to cultivate a manipulation factor in the buying public. If they could flip a switch to sell the next new album, they would do it, and try to make it hard-wired. Precious few music marketing managers care what’s right or wrong when they make that decision. Even when the managers are themselves musicians and servants of God, the decisions are made based on dollars, not loyalty to Christ. Some of the nastiest people you’ll ever meet perform CCM; some of the biggest names are folks you don’t want to know.
However, there is that extra element in their audience which seeks a worship experience, something altogether absent from the secular market. The secular music crowd don’t get that. They don’t worship in that sense. What appeals to followers of Christ on that level completely misses the secular audience. The music moguls recognize what sells, and can see some similarities in both products, which is frankly part of what damns the religious music market. Still, they don’t accept the existence of a spiritual factor because they don’t have it. To them, it’s simply a matter of a very different market, and frankly, there’s more money in secular music.
The biggest mistake any believer can make is letting a non-spiritual person define “success” for them. You might accept their definition in the sense of understanding how to deal with them, but the biggest disaster in religious music as whole is thinking the market does any good at all to promoting good music, much less good worship.
